Remember Me?
by FriendLey
Summary: After Tony Stark goes on a secret solo mission in Chile, he winds up in a hospital and thinking that it's 1998. Suddenly it's 2016 and he has a wife and is a superhero. He must now undertake the most important project of his life: remembering himself and those who love him, while investigating what happened in Chile and battling enemies his mind cannot recall.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is sort of AU. Timeline differs but characters are the same. Title and story was inspired by Sophie Kinsella's book Remember Me.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Kinsella's Remember Me, Marvel, or any of its characters used in this story. What is written here is for entertainment purposes only. I do not make any profits from it.**

A tall, slender woman slid over a glass of scotch across the counter towards Tony Stark who grabbed it and downed the entire thing in a matter of seconds. He slid it back to her and waited as she refilled it. He's been at the bar in his kitchen for a while now; it was nearing midnight. He doesn't know how many glasses he's had but they weren't enough to make him forget that it was December 16, the anniversary of Howard and Maria Stark's death. On days like these, he usually drinks himself to sleep alone but his personal assistant was working late and he decided she could be quite useful for the night.

She proved herself useful assisting him in the bar and she was useful in his bed too. He filed a mental note in his head to let her go first thing in the morning. He can't work with someone he's slept with.

Tony lay there after, unable to sleep; the memories of his mother's piano playing filled his head. It was too deafening. After an hour, he finally got up. He could do with a drive. He wasn't too drunk.

He found himself speeding across an empty highway, the wind whipping in his eardrums and competing against the piano sounds that still resounded in his head. He slowed when he reached the intersection; the light was about to turn red. He may like the thrill of driving a fast moving car but he had always been careful. He told himself that he didn't need to be in a car accident too. Just think of headlines, _Car Accident Claims Another Stark._ He smirked at the thought. Obie would never survive.

The light finally turned green and Tony pressed on the gas pedal. But another car traveling at a speed much faster than his came out to meet his Audi in a collision.

Tony swore he heard piano music in the distance.

…

A groan escaped his lips. Damn did his head hurt. He hoped that the other driver is having a field day with Stark Industries' lawyers. The nerve of him to run a red light.

"He's awake!" a man cried out.

"That's good," said another, a woman this time. "Better call Hogan."

Tony opened his eyes but a piercing light cause him to immediately shut them back tight. He tried to lift a hand to shield his eyes in an attempt to open them again but his limbs felt heavy and sore. What injuries had he sustained?

"Turn it off!" he growled at anybody nearby.

He could hear people scuffling about and talking again.

"You sure you didn't mess with his brain, doc? Looks like he has mood swings," piped another person.

 _Doc?_ Tony thought, _so I'm at a hospital._

"We'll know when he's fully awake, Mr. Barton. Now, I suggest you all move back a bit," replied the man Tony assumed was his doctor.

Tony groaned again. This time he succeeded in covering his eyes with his hands. "Turn the damn lights off and get me some Advil!"

"Nope. No need to verify. That's Stark all right," he heard that Barton guy say.

The blinding light, the annoying voices, not to mention the throbbing pain in his head made Tony want to pass out. Then, he felt his hands being gently removed from his eyes. It was strangely familiar and that calmed him.

"Tony, it's okay. We dimmed the lights." It was a woman talking, a different one from the voice that he heard seconds ago. For a moment, Tony could've sworn she sounded like his mother. The warmth and love radiating from this woman's touch and tone was too similar to Maria Stark's.

 _But she's dead. It can't be her,_ he thought.

Tony just had to open his eyes now. The need to know who this woman was overpowered the pain of the blinding light.

He opened his eyes slowly. The first thing he saw was her hands clasped around his atop his stomach. When his eyes had adjusted, he noticed a wedding band and an engagement ring on her finger. He knew those rings! He would fiddle with it all the time when he was younger, constantly asking his mother why she had to wear two of them.

A thought crossed his mind. Could this woman really be Maria Stark? Was their accident all just a nightmare?

His gaze moved further up, searching for the woman's face and ignoring all the others. When he found it, his face fell. No. It wasn't his mother. She was dead. But who was this woman wearing his mother's wedding ring?

He stared at her. Even in low light he could see that freckles peppered her face. Her eyes were green (Tony couldn't tell what shade exactly), and they were puffy and red. She had clearly been crying. Dark circles were under them. And her hair… her hair was red. And she was beautiful.

 _Hmm, I rarely get redheads_ , he thought.

Then, fresh tears spilled down from the woman's eyes, staining her cheeks. She collapsed over his body in a heap of sobs; he felt his hospital gown grow slightly wet from her tears.

 _This is uncomfortable._

"Oh, thank God, you're okay! I thought you weren't going to make it!" she cried, the gown muffling her voice. She drew back and planted a kiss on his forehead, on both of his cheeks, and then hugged him tightly saying "I love you" repeatedly.

He had no idea who this woman was and Tony had decided long ago that the best way to deal with women who claimed to know him was to feign recognition and get to know them along the conversation. That way, he avoids unintentionally offending them.

He patted her back and said, "It's a bit too early in the relationship for I love yous, isn't it, Ginger? But if you're an example of what I wake up to whenever I wind up in a hospital, I might just have to keep getting into accidents."

The woman pulled away, looking weird and confused, making Tony think he should have just come clean and admitted he didn't know her. Ginger (which is what he decided to call her) turned to someone behind her. His lab coat told Tony he was the doctor. She quickly moved away from his bedside and wiped her tear stricken face. "I'm sorry, John. I should give him to you for examination first."

The doctor gave the woman an understanding smile and then turned to Tony. He was Asian or of Asian descent and had an air of knowledge surrounding him that made Tony feel at ease. Compared to Ginger, at least _this_ was someone Tony knew was _supposed_ to be in his room. "Hey, Tony. How are you feeling? Follow the light for me please." This John sat on the side of the bed, hovering a flashlight across Tony's eyes.

Tony did as he asked and said, "I feel like my head was hit with a hammer."

John chuckled, clicking his medical flashlight off and inserting it in his coat pocket. "That's good!"

Tony eyed the man. "Good?" His opinion of him quickly changed. Did Obie know his doctor was quack?

John explained, "Feeling pain is better than no pain. It mean's your brain's receiving signals and that it's not messed up. Now, I'm going to ask you a series of routine questions to make sure there's nothing wrong with your neural functions."

Tony nodded cooperatively.

"Can you tell me your name, please?"

Tony smirked cheekily. "Tony Stark. Billionaire, genius, playboy, philanthropist."

John smiled at the attempt at humor. "Do you know where you are?"

"In a hospital." Tony shrugged. "Probably in Malibu. Am I right?"

"New York, actually."

 _Wow. Did I drive that far?_ "Hmm. New York, huh? You know they have nice pizza here."

A snicker in the room alerted Tony to the other voices he had heard earlier. There were a total of five people minus Ginger and the doc. Tony scanned their faces hoping for a familiar one. There was another redhead standing next to Ginger, a blond giant, a ruffled looking fellow with glasses, a rugged man with his arms folded who Tony just _knew_ was the source of the snicker, and one guy who looks eerily like Captain America but that couldn't be him. He looked around again. Where was Rhodey or Obie?

"Nice to know your appetite's still the same, Stark," smirked the rugged man. _So, you're Barton._

"My heart gladdens that you continue to prevail over every battle, my friend," said the blond giant and the others echoed similar sentiments.

Before Tony could ask who any of them were, John continued, "Do you know what happened to you, Tony?"

Tony nodded, "Yeah, some dumbass ran a red light damaging my Audi beyond repair, and now I'm stuck here with strangers in my hospital room. And not to point fingers or anything but," he pointed a finger at the Barton guy anyway, "you landed me in here didn't you? Why else would you be here."

Barton cocked an eyebrow at him making Tony change his mind about blaming him. He moved his finger to point at the ruffled man with unruly hair and glasses, "Or maybe it was you. Why else would you all be here if not to make sure I don't die and you don't have a lawsuit in your hands. Well, listen, buddy, er, buddies, I'm suing anyway." The fact that they ruined his mourning drive was reason to sue enough.

The group of strangers looked at each other and then to the doctor and Ginger, who he noticed fiddled with the rings on her finger. Tony immediately didn't like what she was doing.

"Tony… those are your friends," Ginger told him anxiously.

Tony barked a laugh. "My friends? Yeah, like I'd be friends with Hamlet over there, or Captain America. You look so much like him, it's creepy. My old man would've loved to meet you." Turning back to Ginger he asked sourly, "And who are _you?_ Don't think I didn't notice my mom's rings on your finger. Did Obie ask you to do this? No, wait. It was Rhodey wasn't it?" He didn't appreciate his mother's rings being used as props in the prank they're playing on him.

Ginger's eyes widened and began to bristle with tears. But Tony didn't have the heart to be sorry for being irritable and rude, not when he had every reason to be. His parents are still dead and he had just been in an accident.

"Tony, could you tell me what year it is?" asked the doctor in a polite tone. His interruption allowed for the other redhead to pull Ginger away by her elbow and whisper something in the latter's ear.

The patient rolled his eyes. "I thought we were done with this, doc. It's 1998." Tony ignored the gasp coming from Ginger's direction. "Can I leave now?"

John shook his head, frowning, "I'm sorry, Tony. We're going to have to extend your stay by a few days to run some tests."

The idea of staying longer in this room with these strangers only served to intensify Tony's headache and annoyance. "What? Why? Is there something seriously wrong with me?"

"We're going to know in a few days. But for now, you're presenting symptoms of memory loss."

 _Memory loss?_

Tony laughed, "Good one, doc. I think _you're_ the one forgetting who your patient is. I'm a genius. I don't just forget things. Sure, I forget names of women now and then like Ginger over there. I probably met her once but not seriously enough for me to remember. But that doesn't mean I have amnesia."

"Tony," began the unknown redhead but the doctor shook his head indicating that she not say anything. He reached for the bedside table and handed Tony a newspaper.

"It's June 9. And the year is 2016."

Tony looked at the date of the paper. June 9, 2016 just like the doctor said. If this was a prank, it was a very good one. Still, he tossed it aside and said, "I don't believe you."

"Stark, the healer does not jest," said the blond giant, his voice booming and worsening Tony's headache, "tis the year 2016."

"Listen, Shakespeare, maybe _you're_ the one who's in the wrong timeline," Tony snapped. He turned to the doctor. "You can cut the crap, doc. I feel fine. Now, I want two things: to get out of here and a cheeseburger."

"No," Ginger stated firmly, stepping out from where she was, her arms folded across her chest. "You're staying. You're getting an MRI and seeing a neurologist—"

Immediately, Tony sat up straighter; his head tingled with pain at the sudden movement. He ignored it and glared at the woman. "I'm sorry. You're a pretty face and all but I don't think you're allowed to make any decisions for me. If I do have memory loss or whatever it is you claim, I am still of sound mind albeit I can't access certain memories. I can make medical decisions for myself. And I am deciding to leave right now."

John was about to step in again but the door to the room opened, revealing Harold 'Happy' Hogan, Tony's chauffeur slash bodyguard.

Tony breathed a sigh of relief and relaxed back into the bed, "Hogan! Finally a familiar face!" If there was someone who can clear all of this, it was Hogan.

"Boss, you're awake! Nice!" He walked towards him but Ginger grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Happy," she warned him with a shake of her head. Then, she gave a cry as if remembering something. "Where are the kids?! Oh, God! Happy, he can't see them. He'll—"

 _Kids? What kids?_

"Daddy!" A young girl came running into the room, another toddler right behind her. It was a boy this time, and older by maybe two years. Both clambered onto his bed before anybody could stop them and before Tony could make a decision as to how he feels about having little humans within his person.

The girl placed both of her hands on his cheeks, taking extra care to be gentle as her eyes swept over his face. "Are you okay? Mommy said that you have a booboo because of the bad guys."

"And that Friday had to show the 'Vengers your location to save you," added the boy.

"And Uncle Thor flew so fast! His hammer went whoosh!"

"But you wouldn't wake up and they had to bring you to hospital and mom was so sad!"

"I thought she'd run out of tears! And Grandma stayed with us for days but Aunt Nat called Uncle Happy who picked us up and now we're here," the girl finished, breathing heavily as she tried to catch her breath.

Tony stared at both of them, his eyes glazed, not understanding a word of what was just said. All he knew was that he was about to pop a vein with this headache of his.

Just when he was about to throw a fit, hands lifted both kids up from the bed and to the floor. It was the Captain America dude. "Take it easy, you guys. He just woke up and the doctor still needs to do a check up. Why don't we all go wait outside, okay?" he motioned to everyone in the room, "Uncle Happy and your mom will stay."

The kids cast another glance at Tony before nodding. The girl blew a kiss at his direction while the boy waved. Then, they left the room with the rest of the strangers.

"Hogan, what the hell?" Tony asked the minute the door closed.

"What? What's wrong? You don't like the room?"

"I don't give a shit about the room! Who are those people? Who is she?" he pointed at Ginger. "Tell me those children aren't mine and you got them from an acting school or something. Ugh, my head feels like it's about to explode! Where the hell is Obie?" While Tony rubbed his head, the doctor filled Happy in on the situation.

"Wait, so he doesn't remember anything?" asked the chauffeur when John was done.

"He remembers things until 1998. I'm afraid, however, that beyond that there's nothing."

"I'm right here. Stop talking like I'm not!" growled Tony. "And cut the act, okay! It's 1998 no matter what that newspaper said. The last thing I remember is I was driving and I got hit by a car. That's it!" but the three faces he looked at said that that wasn't it at all. He was suddenly nervous of what they might say to him. "Isn't it?"

"Pepper, Mr. Hogan… Tony, you have retrograde amnesia. It's—"

"I know what it means," Tony said, "I can't access pre-existing memories but I can make new ones."

John nodded. "Usually this only lasts for hours, but it could go on for weeks or months depending on the extent of your brain injury. Tony, we don't know what was done to you, but we do know that you hit your head pretty hard. We won't know for sure how long the amnesia will last."

"Great. Just great," Tony sighed, looking away from them. He found himself finally taking notice of everything surrounding him. There were drawings pasted on the walls, flowers as well as get-well-soon balloons in one corner. Next, he studied Hogan. His mullet was gone; in its place was a crewcut. He was stockier, the lines under his eyes indicating that he was more stressed, and his eyes… even if everything was set up and faked, Hogan's eyes betrayed an age that could not be a result of using makeup or contact lenses.

"It's really 2016?" Tony asked his old friend.

Hogan nodded.

"And she's… are you… are you my wife?" he asked Ginger hesitantly, not yet willing to believe that in a course of one night he's suddenly married, has kids and new friends he doesn't know about.

She nodded and added, "And those were your children."

 _Yeah, let's not forget the children._

A hand settled on Tony's shoulder. It was Hogan. "Tony, I know this is a lot to take in and I know that having a wife and kids are the last things you thought you'd have at the age of…" he paused, mentally calculating how old Tony thinks he is. "28. But you still have your old friends here: Rhodey's still Rhodey. I'm still Happy. But you have new friends too, some of which you've met. And you have children who love you, a wife who's the best thing that's ever happened to you, believe it or not...We're not giving up on you. So, don't give up on us, alright boss? There must be things we can do to help you remember. Doc?"

Tony turned to the doctor in time to see him nod. "We can surround you in familiar environments, have you do familiar tasks. Older memories are usually recovered first, and then more recent ones, until you recover everything."

"See, boss? Nothing to worry about. Just think of remembering as a new project. You like those, right?"

Tony didn't answer. All his life he knew everything; his knowledge about things was what set him apart from the rest. And now… he doesn't know anything at all. What he _does_ know is useless in this time, useless in navigating his way through the new century, useless in…he risked a quick glance at Ginger…marriage or being a father. He wondered at what happened in those years he's lost. What made him settle down? What made him decide to have kids? He's always been convinced he would make an awful father. What changed his mind?

Finally, he asked Hogan, the only familiar person in the room, the only person he can trust, "If I agree to start on this… project, can I go home?"

Hogan looked at John and Ginger. Tony doesn't know what went through her mind that changed it, maybe it was how despondent and confused he looked, but Ginger nodded yes.

"You can go home."

Tony noticed John frowned at that statement. He still probably wanted to run the tests.

...

It turns out "home" wasn't the same 1998 mansion Tony remembers. It isn't even in Malibu at all. According to Hogan, it was a building, well, he called it a facility and apparently Tony occasionally lived there with those strangers in the hospital. He had to ask again in case he didn't hear it right because since when did he ever share anything with anyone?

They were currently on the drive home to said facility but it was rush hour so they were stuck in traffic. And Tony did not do well in traffic. His headache had subsided but he was antsy to get home, hoping it would spark some memories.

He leaned over to the front seat with the intention of bothering Hogan who was driving, but the latter was speaking to someone on his phone. He glanced at Ginger who sat in the passenger seat and she had a phone to her ear too. Were these two talking to each other or something?

He settled back down in a huff.

"Does it hurt?"

Tony jumped; he forgot the two munchkins were seated with him in the backseat, sandwiching him between them.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked the girl, her eyes sparkling at him. He filed a mental note to ask Hogan for her and her brother's names. He couldn't call them "girl" and "boy" forever.

She gladly repeated her question, "Does it hurt?" she motioned to her own head.

Tony shook his, allowing himself to talk to the only people in the car who'll notice him. "Not anymore. But I still can't remember stuff."

She nodded her head slowly, "Uncle Bruce said you lost your mem'ries and you can't 'member me or Philip or mommy or any of the 'Vengers and that we have to be patient with you." After a moment, she cheerfully said, "My name is Maria and you're my daddy."

That brought a smile to Tony's face. She must be named after his mother. It was apt; the toddler had blond hair just like the late Mrs. Stark. He suspected it would turn a shade similar to Ginger's when she got older. Her eyes were blue with flecks of green, or were they green with flecks of blue?

"Um… It's nice to meet you, Maria," Tony said, awkwardly offering his hand to her which she took with a giggle and shook up and down. After he severed the contact, she surprised him by leaning over to his other side, looked at her brother and whispered loudly, "it's your turn."

Tony waited for the boy to introduce himself like his sister did. Unlike she who was blond and seemed carefree, the young boy had brown hair like his dad, had brown eyes too, and looked pensive. It made him look mature for his age and every bit the older brother. Tony wondered at what he was thinking, probably if whether or not he should treat him like his dad or a stranger.

The kid's mouth eventually curled to form a shy smile, "I'm Philip." His voice was so low that if Tony hadn't been sitting next to him, he wouldn't have heard him say his name at all. He found the shy act quite different from the exuberant ball of energy that Philip was back in the hospital.

"Nice to meet you, Philip," replied Tony. He tried to think of something else to say to the kid but wound up empty.

They continued the ride in silence until Philip asked in his low voice again, "You really don't remember us?"

Tony took a breath. The entire situation would have been easier to handle if he was dealing with adults. But he had two toddlers looking at him expectantly, hanging on the words that are gonna come out of his mouth. He glanced at one of them and then at the other. He may not like kids very much but he knew enough to know that whatever he said was going to either break or make their lives.

"I'm sorry, kid," he started, "I don't remember anything right now." At the crestfallen look on both of their faces he quickly added, "Aw, come on. Don't look so sad. Who knows? Maybe I'll wake up with my memories tomorrow." He smiled at them encouragingly and he hoped that the fact that he himself didn't feel very encouraged didn't show.

Tony hesitantly put a hand on both of their shoulders and then gave it a slight squeeze. When he moved to retract it, the little girl leaned against his side and curled up beneath his arm. He stiffened at the response he got but he didn't want to push her away, not with their mother with them.

Philip, on the other hand, stared at his sister. He seemed to be deliberating whether or not to mirror what she did. After a while, he opted to just lean against Tony.

Tony looked ahead only to see Ginger observing their interaction. He caught her eye and he thought he might've seen a flash of contentment, but it was gone a second later and she turned back around to face the road.

The three stayed that way until the car pulled up at a mansion. Climbing out, Tony did not miss the big A on the wall of his New York home.

"What's the A stand for?" he asked Hogan who held the door out for them.

"Avengers!" cried Maria, skipping ahead of him towards the entrance door.

"Avengers?" Tony muttered under his breath. What an unusual name for a home.

They entered the building, his eyes sweeping over the room. The first floor was a reception slash lobby giving him the impression that the place wasn't just a residential space; it must also double as a corporate office. He did one more sweep at his surroundings. The woman at the front desk didn't look familiar, neither did the man who just gave him a nod. The doorman's name came up blank.

Tony followed the rest of his companions to the elevator, nodding uncomfortably at the well wishes the staff directed at him as he passed. Once inside, Ginger explained that his permanent address was still his Malibu house; the facility was just being used for his job. Tony didn't get to ask her what job he did in 2016 that required him to have housemates because the elevator dinged open and they all filed out to a living room.

Right in the center was a coffee table and it was surrounded by armchairs and loveseats. Rising from one of them and walking towards him was James Rhodes. This caused Tony to fail to notice the two children run off somewhere accompanied by Hogan.

The pilot gathered Ginger in a hug first after which he moved to Tony.

"Rhodey!" Tony cried, "Look at you! Man, you look older and uglier." He clasped an arm around his friend's shoulder, grinning as they walked over to the sofas. His spirits took on a much positive turn at the presence of a face from his past.

Rhodey laughed, accepting the jibe. "I'm gonna choose to forgive you for that comment because apparently you're a bit empty in the noggin."

"Hogan told you, huh?" asked Tony as they both sat down while Ginger took a seat on the armchair across from them.

With a shake of his head, Rhodey replied, "Pepper actually."

"Pepper?"

Rhodey slowly turned his gaze towards Ginger, waiting for her to say something.

"I'm Pepper," she admitted, a blush rising to her cheeks.

 _What kind of a name is Pepper?_ Tony thought but didn't say. Instead, he told her, "Ginger suits you better. I mean… because of your hair and all."

She didn't reply, making the air around them turn all kinds of awkward. Tony pressed his lips together, willing for someone to say something.

Ginger cleared her throat and stood up, excusing herself. "I'm gonna go… check on the kids. Rhodey, you… you catch him up?

Tony caught her voice quiver at the end and he couldn't help but feel bad for being the cause of it.

Beside him, his friend nodded, "Yeah. Don't worry. I got this, Pep."

She forced a smile to her face and then left them alone, the click of her high heeled shoes echoing in the silence. Once she was out of sight and earshot, Tony dropped his head to his hands with a groan. "How did I get here, Rhodey?"

"You took a car." That quip received a slap and a glare from Tony.

Rhodey got up, "I think it would be better for me to show you." Without another word or a sign that he would wait for Tony, Rhodey headed to the elevator. Tony scrambled to his feet and followed suit.

"You don't have a video about my life, do you? Because that would be weird although very convenient," stated Tony, quietly enjoying the smooth movement of the elevator car as it went down to the basement.

"Sorry. I'm not YouTube."

The elevator opened and they got off.

"What's YouTube?"

Rhodey didn't answer.

Tony followed him down a hallway, passing by a gym, a lap pool, and a room labeled "Weapons Room" and then finally into a circular room that housed what looked to be life sized action figures lined up. There were two benches at the center and towels on the shelves in the corner. If Tony didn't know any better, it looked like a locker room that had costumes on display. Upon closer inspection he saw that they were more like robotic figures. They were all stored behind glass and beside each one was a nameplate and a control panel.

He folded his arms and angled his head to the side as he studied one before him. It was strapped to a mannequin and it resembled a bird's wings; it was painted in different shades of gray but had red streaks.

"Is this carbon fiber?" he asked himself, appreciating the material. He looked at the nameplate. it said 'Falcon'. He turned to the one next to it and it said 'Iron Man'. This one looked like… well, a man. A muscular man. Although, he doubted it was made out of iron. It was smoothly made and polished in a way that made its muscles look like it rippled in action. It was painted red and gold, and had rectangular slits for eyes. In the center was its heart.

Power source? Tony guessed.

There were others more in the room, all in different designs and colors, some of them looking like they belonged in a Hollywood dressing room. Was that Captain America's uniform?

Tony raised an eyebrow at Rhodey, "This is supposed to bring back memories?"

"This, right here," Rhodey pointed at the Iron Man, "is you. This is your job aside from being a full time husband and father."

Tony looked at the Iron Man again and then back at his buddy, "I dress up and play robot?"

Rhodey scoffed and looked incensed at the insinuation that Iron Man was a robot. "Uh, no. This is not a robot. You asked me how you ended up in this point in your life, well, it started with this." He pointed at the figure again. "In 2008 you were kidnapped during a weapons demonstration in Afghanistan and were held in captivity for three months, forced to make weapons for terrorists."

Tony blinked in surprise. When he asked for his life story, he didn't think it would be _that_ much of a story. "How'd I get out?"

Rhodey jerked his head in the direction of the Iron Man.

Tony's hands dropped to his sides. "This? I got out using this?"

"Well, not _that_ exactly. What you're looking at is a much advanced version of the suit of armor that you built using a box of scraps in an Afgan cave."

Tony whistled, now fully appreciating the piece of modern technology in front of him. "Damn. I bet those terrorists crapped their pants running."

Rhodey nodded. "Oh, yeah."

Tony looked at the suit again, seeing it in a new light since he now knew it wasn't just there for Halloween decorations. "This baby probably fetches millions at the DOD! I mean, this is Stark Industries' main weapons line now? Clothing our men in suits of armor?"

"No, no."

Tony whipped around to face him, eyebrows furrowed in confusion. So, what does he do?

"You don't trust just about anybody with the suit. Not even me at first… Look, Afghanistan changed you. You never told us exactly what happened over there but what I do know is that you saw Stark Industries weapons being used to kill Americans when it was designed to protect them. You realized that you didn't want to be part of an industry that was comfortable with zero accountability." Tony made a face at the cheesy line of words, causing Rhodey to hastily add, "your words not mine. Anyway, you stopped weapons manufacturing and got into energy."

"I did what?!"

"You stopped building—"

"—that was rhetorical. What the hell was I thinking? Obie approved of this? _You_ approved of this?"

Rhodey licked his lips and pressed them together. "Well… let's just say the stocks dropped. And it turned out Obadiah's been selling weapons to terrorists under the table. He conspired to kill you, and when he saw that you escaped Afghanistan with that suit, he made his own and clobbered you with it. After defeating him, you realized the Iron Man suit was too dangerous in the wrong hands. Anyway, you've been fighting crime with it ever since."

Tony steadied himself by putting a hand on the glass separating him and the suit, not quite believing what had just been said, "I… Obie? But he's… he's been with me… he was dad's closest friend! I can't believe—he wouldn't just—I need to talk to him." He turned to leave the room.

"He's dead."

Tony halted. He felt Rhodey move closer to him from behind and put a hand on his arm. "Official story is he died in a plane accident. But what happened was he got caught in the explosion during your fight."

Tony felt like the ground was just pulled out from under him; it felt worse than finding out it was 2016 and he had settled down. When his parents died in '91, Obie was there to give him life. Obie was there to walk him down his inheritance. And he expected Obie to help him recover his memories. But Obie was… a traitor?

Tony continued to walk out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Rhodey cried, hurrying after him

"To get a drink."

They both wound up back upstairs where a small kitchen was situated a few steps away from the living room.

Tony opened cabinets and coolers, realizing that his hands knew exactly which glass to use and where the hard drinks were kept.

Rhodey shook his head with a chuckle. "Figures you'd remember your liquor."

"I must come here a lot," said Tony, pouring the liquid into the glasses. He handed one to his friend, and then took his own and raised it up. "To… Tony. _Your_ Tony. For all the hell he's been through."

"To 2016 Tony," echoed Rhodey. They brought the glasses to their lips and drank, sitting down right after.

Tony let the drink burn in his throat, giving him the strength to get on with the night. Settling the glass back down on the table, he asked, "So, what else have I been up to?"

Rhodey then told him that he's a full time superhero, made Ginger his CEO, and he is a team member of a private organization known as the Avengers, a group composed of skilled individuals tasked to fight battles the run-of-the-mill soldiers couldn't win.

Tony rolled his eyes, finding it all hard to believe. "Making someone else CEO, that I can believe. I never enjoyed the job, anyway. But being a superhero and fighting battles? _Pfft._ What battles were those? Godzilla?"

"Something like that. Aliens, gods, other dimensions," Rhodey replied, swirling the newly refilled drink in his hand.

"Footage," Tony demanded, "or it never happened."

"They're all up on YouTube."

Tony threw his hand up. "There it is with the YouTube again! What is that?"

Rhodey laughed and patted his back. "Let me show you." He clapped his hand twice and the surface of the bar table glowed, showing a heads-up display. Tony's eyes widened with a twinkle, impressed at the technology.

 _Not too bad, Stark._

Rhodey typed a url in the address bar revealing a website with the word YouTube in the upper left corner. He then typed "avengers battle of new york" in the search bar and multiple video results came out. He picked one and they watched as a green giant _thing_ roared, trying to get smaller creatures off its back. It moved out of the camera's focus and two new people moved into view. Tony recognized them as the Captain America guy and the other redhead in his hospital room; they both fought back to back as the former threw his shield at something and the latter fired using a handgun. Suddenly another person joined them. He landed from the sky; his red cape and long blond hair made him stand out. He raised a hammer in his hand high and several sparks of… was that lightning he just summoned?

Rhodey paused the video, saying, " _This_ is YouTube. And _these_ are aliens, gods, and other dimensions."

Tony played the video back, studying the green monster again. "This green thing is an alien?"

"No, that's Bruce. He's your best friend in the lab."

Tony remembered Maria mention an Uncle Bruce back in the car. "It's a scientist? How does it even fit in the lab?"

"It's a he and he's Bruce Banner, expert on gamma radiation. That's _the_ Steve Rogers—long story—Natasha Romanoff who is completely human but is a killer spy, and there's Thor, the Norse God."

Tony shook his head lightly, the Obie bit momentarily forgotten due to the new and interesting knowledge that aliens and gods exist. He touched a few more videos and found one that showed the Iron Man flying a missile into the sky. "Is this what I was doing when I wound up with my memories lost? Superheroing? Avenging?"

Rhodey frowned and Tony knew he wouldn't get any answers. "We don't know. Bruce and Thor located you in Chile unconscious. You were probably on a mission of your own. You spent a week there in a coma before we transferred you here in New York. Even Friday, your user interface, didn't know what happened. Your suit ran out of battery at the end of it so we didn't get anything useful from the log."

Tony took another drink. "There isn't going to be a bad guy that I haven't killed going to come after me, is there? Because if you haven't noticed, I'm not superhero material at the moment." He gestured to the paused Iron Man video. "That isn't me. I mean, it's cool and all, and I can't wait to get my hands on it but…"

Rhodey shook his head. He understood where Tony was going. If an enemy were to return, Tony would be very vulnerable without his memories of Iron Man. "Don't worry. Your secret mission is over and done with. The charred remains you left in that mountain in Chile is proof of that."

In the back of Tony's head, he found himself disagreeing with Rhodey. He tipped that off to paranoia and decided to ignore it. "Do I do that often? Fly solo? I thought I had teammates." He glanced around, "Where are they anyway? They seemed to be ever present in my sickbed."

"Oh. Around. This place is huge. They're probably keeping their distance knowing you'll throw a sissy fit."

"I resent that."

Tony turned back to the heads-up display and typed his name. Most of the results were of him fighting battles, some were TMZ videos, and buried in the later pages was one that said _Stark Industries CEO Tony Stark on Capital Hill._ He touched on it with a 'hmm' and watched himself walk out of senate committee accompanied by applause.

"Glad to see your Tony's been giving the government a migraine. I couldn't have done it better myself," he commented with a smirk.

They watched older TMZ videos for entertainment purposes; there was one that showed him running around in the nude which Rhodey said was a side effect of one of his experiments. A few more drinks in and they were both doubling over in laughter at the footage, their sides aching.

Wiping away the tears spilling from his eyes, Rhodey asked, "Are you good? I mean… you seem good now, but how are you processing all of this?"

"I'm still at the Afghanistan part, to be honest."

They both chuckled.

"There you are."

They stood and turned around to find Ginger standing behind them. She was carrying a sleeping Maria whose head rested on Ginger's shoulders and her mini legs were locked around Ginger's waist. Philip was in the same state in Happy's arms. Beside them was a woman Tony hasn't met… or has no memory of.

"We're leaving to drive my mom home and then we're flying back to Malibu to ready the house," said Ginger.

Tony looked at the unknown woman again. So this was the grandma. Her hair was a darker shade of red compared to Ginger's, almost brown, and there were fine lines on her kind face.

The woman dropped the duffel bag she was carrying to the ground and walked over to him. She didn't hug him like the children did. No doubt she had been briefed on his situation. She lifted a hand and then after a thought, brought it back down. "I'm Mary. I'm glad you're back. Even if it is like this... You take care of your head, now, okay? I know you have high alcohol tolerance but you wouldn't want to wake up to a hangover tomorrow. And don't get back to work too quickly. Give your family a break."

She was right. It would take far stronger alcohol and more drinks to get him and Rhodey drunk.

Tony nodded at her. He supposed this woman was his mother now too, being married to Ginger and all. Hmm. He could do with a mother figure.

She walked back over to her daughter and grandkids, and picked up her bag.

"You go home tomorrow too," Ginger continued. It wasn't a request. "We think… I think it'll be better if you recover at home."

"No problem," said Tony, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Well, I'll see you."

They said their goodbyes and the two men sat back down. Tony watched Ginger enter the elevator and he said to Rhodey quietly, "Tell me about her." He wanted to know the woman that was his wife and mother of his kids. What was it about her that was so different from the several billion other females in the world? Was their relationship like his mom and dad's? Did they love each other or was it a marriage of convenience? Was she from a wealthy family and marrying her merged their companies together?

The elevator doors closed and he focused his attention back to the man beside him.

"I don't think I should," began Rhodey.

"C'mon. What? We don't kiss and tell?"

"I don't want what I say to shape your opinion of her. I mean, I want you to get to know her yourself—"

"—and I will. I just need something to go on."

"—I want you to fall in love with her again on your own."

"Whoa," Tony held a hand up, "don't go getting way ahead of me, platypus. I just want some small facts. You know, her likes, dislikes. Does she eat cheese, for example."

Rhodey gave him a straight-faced look. "Does she eat cheese? _Really?_ You want to know if she eats _cheese_?"

"She could be lactose intolerant."

Rhodey rolled his eyes.

When Tony realized he wasn't going to give anything up, he said, "At least tell me if she's the real deal."

At that question, Rhodey immediately stated, "Oh, she's real. She's the realest woman you're ever gonna meet… or get for that matter."

Tony waited for him to go on, but he didn't. "That's it? That's all you're going to tell me?"

"You managed to get to know her fine without me 17 years ago. You can do that again." Rhodey picked up his glass and sipped.

"So, we've known each other for 17 years, huh," said Tony, suppressing a mischievous grin. If he said the right things and took his time, Rhodey would let something slip soon enough. "And in those 17 years, at what point did she trick me into giving her the keys to my kingdom?"

Rhodey's eyes flashed with anger. "She's not a gold digger, if that's what you're getting at. She didn't even like you romantically when you first met! Why she ever married you is one of the 7 wonders of the world."

Tony let a grin break out. "There we go. So, she's not a plastic, Barbie girl, although with those legs it's debatable. She didn't fall for my charming good looks when we first locked eyes. And we've known each other for 17 years. Anything else you want to _not_ give up?"

Rhodey scowled at him, but eventually relented. "She's not a gold digger."

"Yeah, I got that. What else?"

"She's not one of your Stark Girls. You can't just wink at her and expect her to swoon. You gotta work for her affections."

"And how long did it take me to get her to throw herself at me?"

Rhodey ignored the question. "She's not someone you can flirt or BS your way out of arguments and definitely not when you two got married. She doesn't appreciate it when people reduce her to her gender. She doesn't run from a challenge or even a threat; do you know how many times she risked her life—personal and public—for you?"

"Not unless you're planning on telling me."

"She doesn't like big grand gestures. She doesn't like it when you don't clean up your superhero mess…" and the rest of the night went on like that, hearing what Ginger was not instead of what she is because that was for Tony to find out.

It was near 10 in the evening when they cleaned up and Tony was shown to his room. There were a few discarded clothes hanging on a chair, pictures of him and his family on the bedside table, and gadgets scattered on his bed. He let the latter fall to the floor as he removed the cover of his bed. He could figure out their function some other time. He plopped down on the mattress, just wanting to continue processing.

He wasn't kidding to Rhodey when he said he was still coming to terms with Afghanistan because he really was. What happened to him that changed him so much to abandon weapons manufacturing, abandon his dad's legacy? Sure, Rhodey said he saw his weapons used against Americans, but it's one thing to actually see that happen and live it, and another to just have the story recounted to you.

His thoughts turned even more restless when he thought of Obie. Tony didn't want to believe it but there was no reason to doubt anything that Rhodey said to him. He was going to have to dig through the archives when he gets home.

The idea of going home—to his Malibu one—calmed him. Yeah, he loved the technology in the facility but it didn't feel homey. Plus, he wasn't ready to accidentally run into his special, superpowered teammates yet. But was he ready to bump into Ginger and the children during meal times or in different hours of the day in the Malibu house?

Ginger… he could learn more about her tomorrow.

He turned to his side and he could see one of the pictures staring back at him. He closed his eyes. Home, he was certain, would bring him some semblance of comfort. If things got too overwhelming, he could always hide from the children and his wife in his workshop. And with that, he fell asleep, his mind devoid of dreams.

...

After a plane ride and a car ride, Tony and Rhodey finally arrived at the mansion the next day just after lunchtime. Tony didn't show it but he liked what he saw as he got out of the car; his house was still the same, exterior wise. It still stood on the edge of a cliff over Point Dume, overlooking the sea. It didn't look like it had been majorly remodeled except for a probable paint job.

 _Nice to see no world catastrophe brought you down, baby,_ he thought as he entered.

He stopped dead in his tracks, causing Rhodey to bump into him.

The interior wasn't the same as he left it in 1998.

Tony took a few steps forward, looking left and then right. "Where did my waterfall go? I had a waterfall right there! What happened to my waterfall?" he asked wild eyed and throwing his hands up in the air.

"It was a hazard," said Ginger, walking into the foyer/living room. She had her strawberry blond hair up in a ponytail and was wearing jeans and a polo shirt. Tony noticed she looked different. She wasn't taller than him anymore (not that he'd ever admit she was) because she was now wearing sneakers in the house. She looked well rested; her eyes and her voice lost the vulnerability that was previously present in them. She seemed… better or in better spirits than yesterday's Ginger; yesterday's Ginger looked lost and fumbling her way through. _This_ Ginger gave him the impression that she was ready to take on a challenge.

 _And maybe that's it,_ Tony thought. He remembered what Rhodey said about her last night. "She doesn't run from a challenge or even a threat." His situation with his memory loss certainly meets the definition of a challenge and threat to her life's stability.

 _She's ready to take me on._

All that went through his mind in seconds as he walked closer to where she stood. "What, people fell into it? There was nothing to fall into! It's water falling against glass!"

"The kids kept sticking their hands in the water and then stuffing them in their mouths. It was a health hazard. Plus, after the two or three times that you blew up the house—"

"— _I_ blew up the house?" he turned to Rhodey for confirmation but noticed he looked a bit guilty. He didn't know why. "Why would I do that?"

"—we decided not to keep the waterfall."

His shoulders fell. "I liked my waterfall." _And everything else that's gone,_ he silently added. He noticed his couches have been rearranged, a fireplace and a few paintings were added.

He turned to Ginger who stated, "It will please you to know that the basement hasn't been touched by any other hand except yours." She inclined her head in the direction of the staircase leading down to his workshop.

He might as well have this tour of his house now rather than later, he decided, walking towards his man-cave with Ginger following, leaving Rhodey in the living room.

The workshop smelled like grease and sweat, just the way Tony remembered it. There was a round, steel platform in the center of the room. For what purpose, he didn't know. There was that 1932 Ford that he's pleased to know 2016 Tony hasn't finished working on either; it was the last project he and his dad had ever worked together on. To finish it would mean a lot of things that Tony wasn't quite ready for.

"Welcome home, boss." Tony jumped. Instead of the crisp British accent of his AI, Jarvis, greeting him, it was the voice of a woman with a Scottish accent.

"That's Friday," explained Ginger

"Friday? What happened to Jarvis?"

The AI replied, "My predecessor was uploaded to the synthetic being known as the Vision."

Tony turned to Ginger with a bemused look on his face. "Jarvis got a body and called himself Vision? That's grandiose of him."

"It's not that much of a surprise given that _you_ created him," she fired back in a teasing tone.

Tony smirked, liking this Ginger much more than yesterday's version. He continued to see what else had changed in his shop. He noted there were other Iron Man suits behind a glass wall, new car models in his garage, and apparently he took down the Barnett Newman painting and replaced it with an Iron Man one.

Ginger was right, he had to admit. All the changes in his workshop were changes he himself would have made through the years.

They moved upstairs to the bedrooms. His, unfortunately, looked and felt different; it had a woman's touch to it now, courtesy of Ginger no doubt.

"I moved some of my stuff to the guest room. I figured you wouldn't want to sleep with a stranger."

"That has never been a problem before," Tony said, his lips curled. He meant it as a joke. In all honesty, he was glad he had the room to himself. Even when he brought women home in the past, he was never comfortable staying in bed with them after accomplishing the deed; he would leave them to go down to his shop.

"I know," Ginger said, understanding what he meant, "Who do you think kicked them out every morning?"

Tony slowly pointed a finger at her, a questioning look on his face.

She nodded.

"You're my PA?" he asked, surprised. Rhodey never said she used to work for him.

"Was. For 11 years."

His eyes widened, "Wow! 11 years? You know that's the longest—"

"—longest a PA has stayed with you, yep."

"And then I made you my CEO," he said.

Now that he thought of it, he could definitely see himself getting sick of running the company and then handing it off to her. Hell, she was probably running the company for him while she was his PA. She must have been an exceptional one for him to have kept for 11 years. So exceptional he married her?

Tony moved to look at the shelves in his room. Like his bedroom back at the Avengers Facility, there were photos and other trinkets. He held up a trophy encased in glass. Inside it was some kind of circular object that said "Proof that Tony Stark has a Heart MK I" written around it. Beside it was another labeled MK II.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "This from you?"

She nodded. "These are smaller chestpiece versions of your arc reactor that stopped shrapnel from entering your heart. It's what kept you alive in Afghanistan and for a few years. But after the palladium in it poisoned you, the shrapnel was surgically removed."

Tony rubbed his chest. "So that's what the scar was… Hmm, I was actually half machine." He didn't know what to make of that. He thought he had survived Afghanistan without a scratch. If he needed an electromagnet to live, he wondered at what else had happened to him there. He studied the chestpiece again. This must be what powered his suits which means that the arc reactor technology worked. No wonder he went into energy. The arc reactor technology is clean energy.

He set it back down and followed Ginger into another room she said was the kids' workshop. The said munchkins were inside playing with their Uncle Rhodey.

When they entered, Maria ran towards him, her small frame hurled against his bigger one.

"Hi, daddy!" she breathed, looking up at him. She gave Ginger a quick glance and a "Hi, mommy," before looking back to Tony.

"Hi," he said, now learning that this kid was touchy...and clingy.

"Hi, dad," said Philip quietly before burying himself in his work which was disassembling two Nerf guns.

"So, do you 'member anything?" Maria asked, pulling Tony over to where she was having tea with Rhodey and two stuffed animals.

"Nice tiara," Tony said to his friend as he took his seat, purposefully not answering the girl's question.

"You're gonna get one too," whispered Rhodey.

Sure enough, Tony did get a tiara.

With Ginger supervising, Tony learned that when you drink pretend tea with a little girl you also have to talk to said little girl's stuffed toys and put your pinky up when drinking. You also don't slurp.

It was a while before he managed to extract himself from it, claiming he go play with Philip. The boy's idea of fun was more along his line of work.

Tony sat next to him, "Watcha doin'?"

"This one," Philip held up one Nerf gun, "shoots darts. And this one," he held up the other, "shoots water." He put them both down. "I'm putting them both together."

"So you, uh, make things too, huh?"

Philip nodded wordlessly, keeping his eyes on his project. "Sometimes, we make things together downstairs."

"Yeah? Like what?"

The boy tore his eyes away from the guns and looked at him, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth, "Well, we made a jetpack backpack once."

"Really? How did that turn out?"

A full smile broke out, "It works!" He then proceeded to enthusiastically tell his dad all about how they managed to make the machine much to his mom's frustration. Now, _this_ was the boy he met at the hospital, Tony thought.

"Tell you what, you join me downstairs again and we continue working on whatever it is we were working on before the accident."

Philip frowned. "Mom said not to tinker until you're better."

"Well, sometimes, mom doesn't really know best," Tony replied, pressing a finger to his lips.

Philip grinned. Tony found that he liked it when he grinned.

A few hours later, Ginger hustled them down for snacks. She had prepared sandwiches.

Maria was seated across from Tony telling him all about her best friend, but he wasn't really listening. He was busy staring at Ginger who was leaning over the girl from behind to cut the sandwich into smaller pieces. He noticed her hands were bare of any accessories; Maria Stark's wedding and engagement rings weren't on Ginger's finger anymore.

He tried to suppress a smile as he took a bite of his sandwich. He knew the rings' absence didn't imply anything about his marriage with Ginger. He knew she deliberately didn't wear them because he was uncomfortable with the thought of a stranger wearing them. He continued to stare at her, grateful for what she did. It almost made all the other changes in his house seem insignificant.

 _Almost._

Ginger looked up and caught him staring at her. She blushed but kept his gaze.

Tony nodded his thanks at her which she accepted with a nod of her own. He didn't know how but he would make it up to her.

After eating, Maria asked Ginger if she could play the piano for Tony which he approved before her mother could say anything.

"She plays?" Tony asked Ginger while Maria scurried over to the piano in the living room.

Philip answered for his mom, "Yeah and it's noisy! She never stops and it's the same song over and over again!"

Rhodey ruffled the boy's hair and said, "I think her playing's cute." And when Maria began, Tony thought so too. She played a clumsy version of Mary Had a Little Lamb. Her playing wasn't that of a child prodigy's, that's for sure, but it was innocent and child-like; her enthusiasm alone made it sound sweet to anybody's ear.

It made Tony think of his mother again. She loved playing the piano and would do so whenever he got back from boarding school. Her music always filled the house and that's what he sorely missed when she died. Now, this tiny version, this Maria, was doing the same thing, filling music in his house.

"That was beautiful, bug," he told his daughter after, giving her a tight hug. If he wasn't too preoccupied with the memory of his mother, he would have noticed he called her 'bug', a nickname he would use only for her.

Later in the afternoon, when Rhodey left and the kids were having their nap and Ginger was doing some CEO work, he went down to the shop to consult his archives.

Friday was very helpful although she weirdly reminded him of Ginger. He shook his head trying not to think too much of her.

The archives in his private server confirmed everything Rhodey and Ginger had said; it showed him the terrorist ransom video, the Iron Man Mark II test videos, his and his dad's S.H.I.E.L.D. files, Ultron and a lot more that overwhelmed him to a point that he skipped dinner and retired early for the night.

He lay awake for hours, unable to sleep. His mind heavy and fussing over things, small and big.

His sheets smelled different and they felt rough on his skin. His pajamas had changed too. Obie tried to have him killed… all for a position? He missed his waterfall. Chitauri… wow. At least Dum-E and U are still dunces. All those deaths and it was because of him. Was this the same ceiling back in 1998?

Finally, Tony got up, grumbling. He grabbed a jacket and headed down to his garage.

"Friday, if anybody asks, tell 'em I went out for donuts," he instructed.

"Yes, because sugar will really help you to sleep at 2 in the morning," the AI said sarcastically.

Tony rolled his eyes. She was no different from Jarvis.

"Just do it." He got into one of his cars and drove out. He checked in at a hotel, not caring in the least that he was in his pajamas with just a jacket to cover it up. He just wanted to sleep without any distractions. How is it that his own home, which he was so sure would bring him comfort, only brought him insomnia and anxiety? He hated that he was mistaken. He's Tony Stark. He's always right.

He closed his eyes, the sheets of the bed not bothering him, the ceiling not distracting him, and the pillow supporting the invisible weight pushing against his mind. He began to relax at the thought that his empty dreams would help him through the night. But once again, he was wrong; his mind had other plans.

 **A/N: This fic has been on my mind for about a year now and I have only just decided to actually work on it. I hope you enjoyed it. Tell me what you think with a review!**

 **Character notes:**

 **Pepper - She's no longer the weepy red faced vulnerable woman in chapter 1 because she bounces back when bad things happen. Remember when Tony was kidnapped in Iron Man 1 and she wasn't too emotional when he came back? She pulled herself together to be his PA. So, she's pulling herself together here too. And because she's dealing with an older version of Tony, she's acting the same as she did before they ever got together.**

 **Philip - He's older and so, is more perceptive than Maria. Plus, he's pretty smart so he doesn't know how to act towards Tony yet in the beginning.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Thank you for the follows, favorites, and reviews! They inspire me to write faster.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel, its characters, or the lines and descriptions I borrowed to use in this story from the Iron Man films, the comic Extremis, and the Iron Man 1 and 2 novelizations. What is written here is for entertainment purposes only. I do not make any profits from it.**

He dreamed that he was at a party and Happy still had his mullet.

 _He was walking over to a woman who was standing by a table and conversing animatedly with two other men. This was the woman he had set his eyes on the minute she presented her research earlier in the night._

" _The rest of us are here to drink, you know," he said, making her turn around to face him._

 _She excused herself from the two men who, when they saw who had approached, walked away._

" _Don't you mean, talk? We_ are _at a conference,_ you know _." She replied using the same tone and words._

" _Correct. And in conferences people talk about robot vacuum cleaners and satphones apparently. The future is about consumer goods, I guess. Except your future. Your research sounds quite interesting." Tony paused long enough to make her anticipate what he was going to say next. In reality, he didn't really care about the research but more on the researcher. "But enough talk. It's New Year's Eve. Drinking is mandatory."_

 _He produced a glass of wine seemingly out of nowhere and handed it to her which she accepted coyly._ _He saw her eyes linger down to his name tag which said 'You know who I am.'_

" _You're Tony Stark," she stated. "I'm Maya Hansen."_

" _I heard, you know, from your talk. Medical designer, reprogramming the repair center. I'd like to hear more about it."_

 _She smiled again. Apparently he said the right thing. She finally sipped from the glass he gave her._

 _A man passed by dropping off a box of party hats at the table._

 _Tony picked up the white and gold hat from the top of the pile and placed it on his head, and then took a cardboard tiara and slowly fixed it on Maya's head, making sure not to ruin the long black hair he planned to run his hands through._

 _She set the glass down. "How do I look?"_

" _Like my immediate future."_

 _Her eyes narrowed playfully. "You're good."_

" _I'm also good in another avenue entirely."_

 _She rolled her eyes. "Okay. That was bad."_

 _He shrugged. "Two out of three?"_

 _She laughed before taking a party blower from the box and blowing into it, letting the rolled up paper tube roll out and touch the space between his upper lip and nose. He smiled widely and they laughed again. His hand found hers and when Hogan escorted an annoying stranger away from them, he pulled her along._

" _Where are we going?" she asked, trying to catch up to her entwined hand._

" _Uh, to town on each other. Probably back in your room." She gave him a look, her mouth dropping at his brazen statement, making him add "because I also want to see your research."_

" _Okay, you can see my research," she said, holding up a hand as they walked, "but that's… I'm not going to show you my town._

 _They continued to walk in the direction of the elevators, a group of girls following them from behind._

" _They're not going to see my town either," said Maya, pointing a finger at them, "or my research."_

 _Much to Tony's surprise they_ did _talk about her research when they got to her room, and he_ did _find it very interesting and revolutionary. Extremis, which is what she calls it, has numerous applications. It can change the world._

 _He gazed at her and said, "You're the most gifted woman I've ever met." He knew the line was awful the minute it came out of his mouth._

" _Wow," she said, confirming it for him._

" _In Switzerland," he added._

" _Hmm. That's better."_

" _This week."_

 _They wound up leaning in to each other, their lips meeting in a soft kiss and then BOOM!_

Tony jolted awake. When he went to bed last night, he was not expecting a memory to hit him.

He sat up quickly.

 _A memory._ _I just remembered something. Bern, Switzerland 1999._

He let out a triumphant laugh and got out of bed, suddenly energized and forgetting everything he was irked at the night before. The doc was right. Older memories do come back first.

He slipped on his slippers and looking up from the floor. He realized he wasn't alone in his hotel room.

The redhead—Natasha Romanoff, was it?—was back. She brought Captain America with her and some other person Tony hasn't met yet. She was young, had dark brown hair and a round face. This was Wanda Maximoff. He read about her. She also appeared to be looking deep into his soul and Tony knew for sure that with her abilities, that was probably what she was doing.

"You guys just don't quit do you?" He shook his head. "How did you even get in my room?"

Natasha simply folded her arms and he felt stupid that he even asked.

"Right. Of course you got in my room. You're the Black Widow and you're Captain America and you can move things with your mind." His eyes then landed on the half-eaten sandwiches and potato chips on the table. "Got comfy while I slept, I see. Nice. Although I would have ordered myself an omelet for breakfast." He walked over and tossed some chips in his mouth before sitting on the edge of the bed.

"It's noon," said Steve Rogers.

"Brunch then."

"What are you doing here?" Natasha asked him.

Tony's eyebrows knitted close together. "What am _I_ doing—this is _my_ hotel room. The right question is what are _you_ three doing here because I didn't order a wake up call last night."

"What are you doing here and not at your house, Tony?" Steve rephrased.

Somehow, Tony just knew that was what they meant. "It got too stuffy. Didn't feel like home. So I went here where their motto is 'We'll make you feel at home' which they did. Last night. What are _you_ doing here? Looking for a place to stay in LA? Too bad. I got here first. Get a room." He stood up and headed for the bathroom.

"Do you know what your little runaway act did to your wife and kids?" asked Natasha, causing him to turn back around slowly.

Steve answered for him, "Pepper's managed to convince Maria and Philip that you're at work with us. But she's actually trying not to worry about where the hell you are and at the same time closing a very important business deal."

"What kind of business deal?" Tony asked quietly.

"Seriously? That's what you're concerned about? That woman is the best thing to ever happen to you!"

"But I can't remember what happened!" Tony shouted at the soldier causing Wanda to flinch. He inhaled and started over much calmer. "My house is not my house. There are people there who are not normally there! Things are gone. Even Jarvis left. So, I got out of there too."

"You're Tony Stark. You're just going to let a few missing ornaments cost you your family and everything you worked so hard for?" asked Natasha.

Steve took a step forward. "Tony, I know what it's like to wake up to a different world and time."

Tony bit the inside of his cheek; he remembered hating this guy and that didn't change in 2016. But Captain America, as much as he hated to admit it, was right. He read his file. He woke up years after the war to find out everyone he knew was dead or getting there. At least Tony still had Rhodey and Hogan, and a new family.

"I wanted to retreat from everyone and everything else too," Steve continued. "But that won't help you because wherever you hide yourself, it will still be the same world. You have to keep moving forward, Tony. You may not have your memories but you can still make new ones."

"You've been given a second chance, Tony," said Wanda, finally speaking up in a thick accent.

Tony scoffed at that; his whole life beginning with Afghanistan has been a series of second chances. Was this really any different?

"You're lucky," said Steve again, "because you have friends and family to help you. Let us help."

Tony ran a hand over his mouth, feeling the stubble scratch at his fingers and palm. "I see why the two of you are here, but why'd you bring the kid along?" He jerked his head at Wanda, "Teaching moment?"

"I want to help you, Tony," said Wanda, "to remember."

"You can do that?"

She nodded. "I can unearth things that are not too deeply buried. I see you have recovered a memory in your sleep."

"Nothing useful. Nothing I can't live without," he tried to say nonchalantly.

"It is unfinished," Wanda stated, arousing Tony's curiosity. "I can show you the rest… and whatever else is surfacing out."

Tony considered that. It was true that the memory was something he could live without, but what if something that had happened next could give him vital information about his life? But the girl could also trick his mind into seeing things.

He bit his lip. He'll take his chances. "Do it." He walked back and sat on the foot of the bed while Wanda stood in front of him. Natasha and Steve stood back, watching. Red wisps of what looked to be smoke surrounded her fingers as she brought them up to each side of his head.

Tony didn't feel her enter his mind but he found himself no longer seeing Natasha, Steve, Wanda and the leftover food, but looking at the face of Happy Hogan.

" _Down!" the bodyguard cried, just having tackled his boss down to the bed in an attempt to cover his body from the explosion and potential further attacks. "Stay down, boss. Stay down."_

" _You're right on me. I made it," said Tony._

 _Hogan looked up, his body relaxing. He got off Tony and got on his feet. "What the hell was that?"_

" _It's a glitch in my work," explained Maya._

" _It's not Y2K," Hogan concluded._

" _Hey!" said Tony, lifting a finger and angling his ear up. There were cheers that could be heard coming from the window indicating that the clock had struck midnight. "Happy New Year!"_

" _Happy New Year!" echoed Maya._

" _I'll see you in the morning," Tony said to his bodyguard. That was Hogan's cue to leave._

" _You good?" Hogan asked, one last time, as he shook the boss' hand._

" _Yeah."_

" _I'll be right outside." Hogan closed the door behind him and Tony and Maya got back on their kissing except with a little less clothes on._

 _A few days later and Tony was sitting behind his desk in his office, feet propped up, a drink in his hand, and chatting with a woman on the phone when someone burst in._

" _Mr. Stark!" the woman began, stomping towards him in high heels, "I went over my supervisor_ and _the general manager, both of whom merely dismissed me before they even looked at these!" She waved a sheaf of numbers before him. "I am sick and tired of being dismissed when what I have could potentially save you your company. So, you are going to listen to me!_

 _A second later and two bulky men walked in prepared to haul her out. His secretary must have called security. They both moved to either side of the woman who bellowed to them in a voice that made Tony's ears ring,_ "Don't you touch me! I have pepper spray!"

 _Tony burst out laughing. The woman was wearing a blouse tucked in a pencil skirt that hugged her every curve; it clearly had no pockets. She didn't have a purse either, so unless that pepper spray was hidden somewhere else on her bodice, she was clearly lying._

 _Hanging up the phone and putting his feet down, he walked around his desk and waved off the guards. He took the sheets from her, still chuckling._ _He stared at the totals in the section that was encircled in an accusing red pencil. He stopped chuckling._

" _Wow. I flipped two numbers. The whole projection is off. How the hell did I miss this?"_

" _Maybe you had a little too much to drink," she replied pointedly, considering he was still holding the drink._

" _There's not enough liquor in the world for me to have had too much to drink." He shook his head as he studied the numbers once more, "What department do you work in again?"_

" _Technically, none. Mr. Folan just fired me."_

" _Did he now." He looked her in the eyes and smirked, "_ Pepper _spray?"_

 _Her freckled face turned red. "Yes, well, I lied about that."_

" _I know. That's why it was so funny. You're the world's worst liar. I've never seen someone fail so spectacularly."_

" _Fine," she said in exasperation, "I'm a terrible liar. Always have been."_

" _Considering the number of people I'm surrounded by who try to lie to me on a daily basis, that's actually a very useful commodity to me. I could use someone who can't help but be truthful." He looked at one of the guards. "Bob…"_

" _My name's Tom, sir."_

" _Good for you. Escort Miss 'Pepper' Potts here to her new office. The big one, next door to mine."_

" _That's Mr. Folan's office, sir. What do I tell Mr. Folan?" asked Tom._

 _Tony smiled. "Tell him he can have Miss Potts' old desk."_

 _Miss Potts frowned. "I—I don't understand."_

" _You, Miss Pepper Potts, are going to be my personal assistant. I need someone who will cover my back while never lying to me. You want the job?"_

" _I…"_

" _Beats unemployment. Huge salary that I'll come up with during a drunken haze. Come on, Pepper… you know you want it."_

" _Okay, but…" her voice turned stern, "You've got to stop calling me Pepper."_

" _You'll get used to it."_

The image in his head dissolved and shifted into another one.

" _You have a meeting at 9 tomorrow."_

 _Tony didn't have to see who it was that turned down his music while he worked. Pepper Potts, his feisty PA, was the first and only PA in his entire history with PAs to be bold enough to do that._

" _I'll be there at 11."_

" _I know. Which is why I had it moved to 11."_

 _His head poked out from underneath the latest car he was reworking._

" _You're learning."_

 _She looked down on the clipboard in her hand and he chuckled at the sight. Who still uses a clipboard? It's the new millennium._

" _Defense called and asked for an update on the landmine—"_

" _What is it about the words land and mine don't they understand? It's mine until I give it to them and then it becomes landtheirs. So, tell them to stop bothering me for updates—"_

"— _well, they're bothering me not you."_

"— _and I'll ship 'em the landtheirs when it's no longer mine. Although, seeing as it'll be a Stark Landmine, I'm guessing it's still mine." His head disappeared back under the hood of his car._

" _I'll tell them it's in the testing phase." He heard her tap her clipboard with a pen. "Mr. Stane called. He's in New York for the board meeting and says, 'Please don't do anything stupid while I'm gone.'"_

" _Tell him I won't if he brings back pizza."_

" _Already did. I ordered a box of pepperoni, thick crust, just the way you like it... Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"_

 _There was a pause before he rolled out from underneath the car._

 _He stood up, wiping his hands on an already greasy rag. He glanced at her. "Do you have plans today, Miss Potts?"_

" _No." She eyed him suspiciously. "Why?"_

" _Because it's Valentine's Day. Girl like you can't be alone on Valentine's Day." He shot her his megawatt smile._

 _It had no effect on her. "As a matter of fact, I won't be alone."_

" _I thought you didn't have plans."_

" _Plans to go out, no. Plans to work, yes. I have plans to rearrange your entire network server with Jarvis tonight."_

" _Miss Potts and I plan to filter it by status, sir," supplied his AI._

" _You two work too hard."_

" _I work at the pleasure," stated Pepper._

 _He closed his eyes enjoying that she's silently trying to think of something that could take the statement back. "There are so many things that I can say to that."_

" _Don't," she warned, and then repeated the question, "Will that be all, Mr. Stark?"_

" _That will be all, Miss Potts."_

Suddenly, Tony found himself back in his hotel room.

"Pepper!" he gasped out his wife's nickname in ragged breaths. He felt someone put a hand on his back but he didn't care who. "Her name is Pepper," he continued, "I gave her… the name."

The experience didn't just bring back events and conversations but emotions as well; he remembered every feeling when it happened. He remembered feeling amused at Pepper's expense, the certainty that she would make a great Girl Friday, the thrill coursing through his veins whenever she engaged in flirting and banter with him, the desire for her to give in to him, how different she was compared to Maya Hansen.

And he was certain that it was a real memory and not something the Scarlet Witch conjured in his mind.

He knew what he had to do. He had decided that—damn it—Steve Rogers was right. Tony wasn't doing himself any favors by ignoring and avoiding his present life. He stood up and grabbed the jacket he had thrown on the floor last night, heading for the door.

"Where's he going?" asked Steve.

"Checking out?" shrugged Natasha.

After stopping by at a Burger King Drive-Thru, he went to the mansion, choosing to drive in to his garage rather than up to the driveway where the children and Pepper might be alerted to his arrival. He didn't want to see them. Not yet, not until he knew all that he needed to know.

"Friday," Tony called, as he got out of his car and into the workshop extension of the basement.

"Welcome home, boss," she said, turning on the computers for him.

"Anybody home?"

"Maria is at piano class and Philip is at soccer practice. Pepper is currently at work."

"Good. I want you to prepare some photos and videos of the missus and me while I take a shower and change." He disappeared up the staircase.

After a few minutes, he padded back down and got in the immobile convertible car he uses whenever he's in the mood to watch some videos in the shop.

"Are you hoping these will spark a memory, boss?"

"You got it." Tony had decided on the drive to the mansion that if he wanted to live in the present, he needed to do some research. "The first step in any project, Friday, is always to do some background research."

"Well, I compiled a bunch of videos and images I think you need to see, arranged in chronological order of course."

"Of course."

The first image she flashed on the screen was of him getting slapped by Pepper while several people stood by and watched. Behind him was a poster that said "Happy Birthday, Tony!"

Tony rolled his eyes. His butler may be new but she and Jarvis shared the same humor, one that he didn't understand.

"You tried to kiss her," explained Friday. He could hear the amusement in the Scottish voice of hers.

"I wouldn't be true to myself if I didn't."

The next one was a test video entitled 'Freeze Gun'. There he was looking directly at the camera. He looked younger; the time stamp showed it was the year 2002.

"We're just going to start off on level 1 temp. Miss Potts will serve as the target while yours truly will fire the weapon," he said to the camera.

Behind him Pepper asked, "What?" Clearly, she had not been told she would be used to test out his weapon.

The Tony in the video picked up a gun and rotated a knob at the corner, before pointing it at his assistant.

"Don't you dare point that thing at me!" She covered her face with the clipboard in her hand.

"Relax, I'm a good shot."

He heard her scoff from behind the clipboard. "HA! What's the score on the darts game again, Jarvis?"

"Mr. Stark – 16, Colonel Rhodes – 130," came the British voice of the AI.

She lowered the clipboard long enough to shoot him a pointed look.

His younger self glared at the ceiling. "Whose side are you on?"

"On fact, sir."

He groaned. "The _fact_ is, Miss Potts, is that you and I are the only biological moving beings in this house. Thus, the only object the gun will work on."

Pepper put down the clipboard and said sternly, "No."

"Okay." He simply said, giving up. That was the end of the video.

Back in the convertible, Tony chuckled. No doubt his younger self never had any intention of using Pepper as a target but only wanted to rile her up because it was entertaining to see the redhead's nostrils flare and eyes spark with annoyance.

Friday then played another footage taken from the state of the art security cameras inside the house. It was December 16, 2004 on the time stamp and the Tony on the screen was slumped over the kitchen counter, downing drink after drink.

His then personal assistant had just walked in, sighing at the sight of him. Pepper took the liquor away from him and stored it away in the cooler. Drunk Tony didn't have the strength to argue. She struggled to pull him up to his feet. After a few tries, she gave up and silently sat with him. When his body started to tremble, she put a hand on his back.

She stayed with him the entire night waiting for him to calm down. She eventually fell asleep with her head resting on her right arm on the counter while the left one was stretched out over his back.

Tony remembered every death anniversary of his parents. Heck, his last memory before the accident was of their seventh year gone. It was unusual to see himself break down in front of someone. Usually, he broke down alone. But her mere presence and touch seemed to have comforted him, and she didn't even say a word.

The next one was a similar video, also taken from the security cameras except this time it was in his workshop. It showed Pepper sobbing over Dum-E's bulky frame. The robot whirred, trying to comfort her.

"Friday, what is this?" Tony asked, sitting up straight. Seeing himself break down was nothing, but seeing Pepper cry was a different matter entirely.

"Pepper spent a lot of time in the workshop when you disappeared in Afghanistan," Friday replied.

Tony's mouth tightened in a straight line. This is the first time he had seen her cry and he didn't like it. He especially didn't like it that he was the cause. He suddenly remembered that she had cried back at the hospital too.

He grimaced. "Isn't any of this supposed to remind me of things? Why am I only being reminded of what an asshole I am?" He switched to the next thing on the playlist before Friday did it for him.

He felt a little bit lighter when he saw that it wasn't a sad video. He watched himself and Pepper sit next to each other in the loveseat in the living room. Her legs were tucked under her and she was reading a book. He, on the other hand, was biting the sleeve of her blouse probably bored because his leg was in a cast, preventing him from doing anything.

She didn't give him in to him and Tony's admiration for her increased. Eventually, his younger self gave up on tugging at her sleeve with his teeth and moved to kiss the crook of her neck. Failing to concentrate on the novel, she turned to meet his kiss, moving to his lap while his hands moved down to rest on her hips.

Tearing his eyes away from the screen, present day Tony said, "Next." God knows he's seen his fair share of porn but for some reason, simply watching Pepper make out with him made his cheeks burn, like he was intruding somehow.

Friday skipped to the next video without a word. It showed him and Pepper having a romantic dinner at the helipad of the mansion. There were two waiters behind them on standby and a tripod was at the corner of the screen indicating that the night was being documented. Another waiter went up and sat a glass of wine down on Pepper's side of the table. As she took the wine and brought it to her lips, the Tony in the video held out his hand, his eyes widening.

"Don't drink it all!" he yelled but it was too late. She dropped the glass and clutched at her throat, choking.

She coughed out something small into her palm and Tony rushed to her side, swatting away the waiters.

Her eyes landed on the object she had choked on. She held it up in the light. It was a ring.

He sheepishly put a hand on the back of his head and let out a nervous laugh. "Heh. I told you not to drink it all."

She glared at him and said, "I hate you."

He wiped the tears that escaped her eyes, a result of almost choking to death. "I know. But will you marry me, anyway?"

She scrunched up her nose. "I guess I have to. You can't take the ring back, not when my saliva's all over it."

"I love your saliva," he said before he kissed her square on the mouth.

Something stirred in Tony's gut and he looked away again.

At the following image of him with an arm around Pepper's shoulders as she held a newborn Philip in the hospital, he shut his eyes.

"You can stop," Tony instructed to Friday. The screen turned white momentarily and then dark, finally shut down.

It felt wrong watching the two characters—because that's what they were to him—interact. He felt like an outsider looking in which was weird because it's _his_ marriage and _his_ wife but the man was not him. There was something in the voice of the video version of himself, a sparkle in his eye when he glanced at Pepper; he had never heard nor seen it before.

Instead of it bringing back memories, the whole thing left a bitter taste in his mouth. It all served to remind him of what he's not, what he's missing, and the amount of pain his wife must be experiencing to be married to someone who didn't even look at her the same way anymore.

He got back in his car and drove out into the night. His "research" had gone all day it seemed. He wound up back in his hotel room and he ordered a bottle of the most expensive wine they had.

…

Days pass and much to Tony's frustration, Pepper Potts was everywhere _but_ in his memories.

She was in his tech. He doesn't talk to Friday, anymore, because she reminds him of her.

She was in his car. He was driving down Malibu one afternoon and when he turned on the radio, the first thing the announcer says is "…the latest album of Red Hot Chili Peppers." He groaned and switched it off.

She was in the sky. He was stuck in traffic and looking up, he saw a Dr. Pepper billboard. To add salt to the wound, it was Iron Man advertising it.

She was in the restaurant he ate at too.

"Could I get some ketchup?" he had asked the waiter who in turn politely replied with, "And would you like some salt and pepper as well, sir?"

Tony left.

He wished that he had the perfect new invention to create and bury himself in, but even his ingenious mind had taken a hiatus along with his memories.

He was currently at a nightclub he frequented back in 1998. There were lesser people now, the atmosphere was not as frenzied as it was and he liked it.

He was dancing with a woman. He didn't care enough to remember her name.

When the song ended, he invited her back to his hotel room. Once there, he let her unbutton his pants and remove his shirt. He let her push him down to the mattress as she climbed atop of him.

He stared at the ceiling as the she began a trail of sensual kisses up his chest.

The woman resembled his wife; she was leggy, a redhead, and worked as a secretary. He hit on her with the intention of sleeping with her. He hoped it would trigger some memory of Pepper, something about them together, their first time maybe or the feel of her lips.

Now, she's nibbling at his earlobe but still he lay there motionless. The woman didn't know how to turn him on. Did he have to do it himself? He flipped her over and nipped at her neck.

He moved to her mouth but no image came. He groaned in frustration, rolling off of her, and sitting up.

The woman pouted, "What's wrong?" She laced her arms around his torso from behind him and rested her chin over his shoulder.

"Whatever it is that's bothering you, I can make you forget," she purred seductively.

Tony pried her hands away; they suddenly felt like claws. "I don't want to forget."

He started putting on his clothes.

"Where are you going?"

"To see my wife," and then he left.

Tony found Pepper in the kitchen at home, spreading some dressing on a slice of bread as a midnight snack.

She looked up when he walked in, sucking in a breath. The bread knife and the bread in her hands clattered down to the plate. She swept her eyes over him, looking at his clothes and his face for any indication as to where he's been for the past few days and nights.

"Tony, what are you—" she never got to finish because he walked right up to her and grabbed her for a rough kiss.

After recovering from the initial shock, she kissed him back, letting his tongue enter her mouth. They stayed that way in the middle of the kitchen, making out like teenagers. Their hands were all over each other, running over clothes and hair. And then as abruptly as he had kissed her, she pushed him away with her strong tiny fists.

Breathing heavily, she said, "This is—you're not—What are you doing? You—you leave and disappear and then you come back all disheveled and attractive and kissing me and I don't understand you at all."

"I'm testing a theory," Tony said. _A theory that maybe I'll remember if I kiss you._

"Is that what I am to you?" she asked, her voice rising in anger. "A variable in your theoretical equation?" She didn't ask what his theory was about.

He stepped forward but she recoiled. Tony sighed. He had hurt her again.

"No. You're not just a var—" he stopped and then tried again, "I want to remember you. I tried. I looked at pictures, I drank and nothing came. I slept and my dreams were blank. I tried women and they... They weren't you. They didn't remind me of you. They didn't remind me of anything! I want to remember you so badly, Pepper! I want to—I hate that I'm hurting you and the kids by simply not remembering. I can't—I can't even remember my own self. What does that make me?"

"Human!" Pepper cried, taking his hand which he hadn't realized was shaking. "It makes you human. You may be a superhero, but you're still human; that hasn't changed. You have to accept that your amnesia isn't something you can work on like one of your weapons or your suit; you're not in control this time. You will remember things when they come. You can't force it." She cupped his cheek. "You keep looking for your memories in the wrong places, Tony. We're right here." She enveloped him in a hug. The warmth that radiated from her body and the vanilla scent of her hair put him at ease.

She let go and turned around to clear away the sandwich and spreads. He stood there watching her work, cleaning away the mess. She must do that a lot. Clean up _his_ messes. When she finished, she took his hand and they both went up the stairs and into his bedroom.

It was only when she closed the door with herself still in the room that Tony realized she was staying.

"What are you doing?" he asked, confused.

She licked her lips. "Maybe what you need is the real thing to remember."

"Now, _I'm_ the one not understanding. I just told you that I was with other women and you don't get mad at me. Instead, you comfort and hug me. I hurt you and you're patient with me. What is this?"

She folded her arms. "Do you think I'm not affected by any of this, seeing you look at me and not remember who I am? Or see you freak out in front of our children? Whenever I close my eyes I imagine you dead in a dark alley because an enemy caught you in your most vulnerable state and you don't know how to fight back. I keep imagining a woman in your arm and booze in another." She paused for air and went on, "But you're sick! So, of course, I can't get mad. Of course, I'll be understanding and patient. Because this is a marriage and I promised to love you. 'In sickness and in health' we said. And believe me, being Iron Man's wife, I've had a lot of practice in that department."

She lifted the bed covers and climbed on her side. "So, even if this whole situation means I have to keep that promise for the both us, then I'm doing it. And I'm staying because if there's a tiny chance that you remember something when I'm here with you, I'll take that too. I do it for you and the kids. Always for you and the kids."

Tony stood there, unable to grasp the depth of her love for him and maybe the hatred underneath as well. He had never met someone who loved that deeply. Sure, there was his mother. But she's his mother. She's bound by some natural force of nature to love him.

Tony didn't know what to say. _Thank you?_

Moving over to the empty side and making sure that there was an acceptable amount of space between them, he lay down.

A few moments of silence pass until he heard her ask, "Did it work?"

"What?"

"Kissing me. Did it bring back anything?"

Tony thought back to the kiss.

"No."

She didn't say anything more and neither did he; they let the sounds of their breathing fill the room.

That night, Tony saw himself die in his dreams.

 _He was having a wonderful time trying to get the rigid soldiers he was riding with in the Humvee to let loose._

" _Throw it up there," Tony told the young man named Jimmy._

 _The soldier held up two fingers to form a peace sign while his partner attempted to take a picture of him with Tony._

" _Peace. I love peace. I'd be out of a job with peace."_

 _While Jimmy instructed his friend on the workings of a digital camera, an explosion rocked the Humvee to a halt. Shots of gunfire could be heard._

" _Jimmy! Stay with Stark!" ordered the soldier, dropping the camera in exchange for his rifle. But Jimmy didn't stay with him._

" _Stay here!" he shouted in turn to Tony before opening the door._

 _The moment Jimmy stepped out, he was blown to bits by a landmine he had stepped on. Shrapnel shards shattered through the window._

 _Tony's heart thundered in his chest. He had to get out._ _He climbed out of the Humvee. Stumbling on rock and sand, he took cover behind a boulder and took out his phone to contact the base._

 _He heard something land a few feet away from him. He looked up. It was a Stark missile. He knew its design. He knew how far its reach was, how long it would take before it detonated._

 _He knew he wouldn't be able to escape it._

 _The blast threw him aside and he landed on his back. He tasted something metallic in his mouth. There was sand in his eyes. There was a burning sensation spreading all over his chest. He clutched at it with both hands and pulled his dress shirt open. There was blood seeping through the bullet proof vest._

 _His head felt heavy. He let it rest against the hot sand and closed his eyes, feeling his life drain away from him._

 _He woke up in a cave, his ears still ringing. There was a man with him, someone he met in Switzerland and he told him all about the electromagnet in his chest._

 _Tony was later taken out to see his weapons that the group called the Ten Rings had collected—the weapons he made that killed Jimmy and everybody else. A rage built up inside him and it brought life back into him._

 _With Yinsen's help, Tony proceeded to build his escape._

Several more events came to him in his sleep until he was facing Yinsen's dying body.

" _Don't waste it," the man struggled to say, "Don't waste your life, Stark."_ _That was the last thing he said._

 _Tony's jaw tightened. He wouldn't let any more lives be lost because of him._ _He stepped out of the cave, staring down dozens of weapons that men aimed at him. He looked up at the symbol of the Ten Rings on a flag billowing in the wind. He would burn it to the ground._

His eyes flew open, Jimmy's screams echoing in his head. He blinked back the memory and embraced the cool darkness of the room.

He sat up slowly, his heart was beating wildly.

 _So, that's what happened,_ he thought. _No wonder you shut it all down._

He glanced at Pepper quickly to see if he woke her. She was still asleep and her body had curled up in his direction in the middle of the night.

He got up from the bed and paced, the image of ten interlocking rings surrounding a pair of crossed scimitars not leaving his mind no matter how many times he blinked everything away. He's seen that symbol before. But not from Afghanistan.

A feeling of foreboding settled in him. It reminded him of the paranoia he felt when Rhodey assured him his solo mission was over.

"Bruce and Thor located you in Chile unconscious," Rhodey had told him. "Your suit ran out of battery at the end of it so we didn't get anything useful from the log."

Could he have seen it in Chile? But that's too big a leap. What happened when he went on that mission, anyway?

He was determined to find out.

 **A/N: Tell me what you think with a review. :) I would appreciate some constructive criticism. And as a thank you, I'll tell you what goes on in the next chapter.**

 **The bit on how Pepper and Tony first meet is from the official novelization of Iron Man 1 by Peter David. I don't own that either. If you guys haven't read that yet, I suggest getting a copy ASAP along with the novelization of Iron Man 2 because it's a great companion to the two films. I also took some lines in Tony and Maya's interaction from the comic book Extremis, so I don't own those too.**

 **Character notes:**

 **Tony – The first two chapters are really all about Tony coming to terms with his self, his situation, and his relationship with Pepper. He sees himself as a womanizer and as the head image of a weapons company but those are suddenly gone. He realizes that no matter what anecdotes he hears or what images he comes across, he doesn't know who he is and that's a scary thing.**

 **He is also used to being in control. He likes solving problems and takes pride that he's able to do it quite faster than a normal person. So, when dealing with his memory loss, he's also trying to deal with it the same way he would a normal problem. He does his research so he knows how to approach the people in his life but again, he is only confronted with how much he doesn't know. So, he goes back to what he is comfortable with which is a life of booze and women.**

 **What I love about writing Tony here is that he gets to see what a real relationship is and it's a humbling experience.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or any of its characters used in this story. What is written here is for entertainment purposes only. I do not make any profits from it.**

Tony went down to the workshop, unable to go back to sleep.

 _Who could go back to sleep after seeing that?_ he thought. He didn't know what to call the memory slash dream. Was it a nightmare? To relive those moments was definitely terrifying, but it could also be a good dream; it showed him of how his rebirth came about, why he reshaped his company, why he began a life of heroism. But it threw up some questions about his life too such as was superheroing his new addiction? How much enemies had he made with his new job?

He instructed Friday to ring Rhodey. It was 4:30 am in California which would make it 7:30 am in Rhodey's end. His best friend had returned to New York a day after he accompanied him back home.

Rhodey picked up at the first ring. "Why are you up so early?" He sounded out of breath, probably out on his morning run. "Are you still running away from Pepper? Because I gave it about five days before I come kick your ass. It's only been three."

"The Black Widow beat you to it," Tony replied, "I need you."

"Right now? Can it wait about, uh, 30 minutes?"

What he had could totally wait thirty minutes but Tony just didn't feel like waiting.

"Just run and listen, Ace. I'm starting an investigation on Chile. I know what you're going to say. You're going to say, 'But, Tony, that mission is closed.' To which I reply with 'I know and I agree with you. But I feel like I can't recover my memories if I don't know what exactly happened that caused me to lose it.' And you're going to say to me 'You're just setting yourself up for a really big headache, man. What do you even need my help with?' I then say something like 'You're the only one I trust to help me find out what happened.' And then I go on to compliment your investigative skills and other things to butter you up." Tony couldn't see it but he just knew Rhodey was rolling his eyes.

"I also add that I would do it on my own but Pepper would be suspicious and start asking Friday some questions which my butler will no doubt answer because girls stick together and all that. And then Pepper will come to me with her fiery hair telling me to shut it down because she just told me last night about not researching my past and letting everything come on its own good, sweet time. But I can't wait, Rhodey. So, I need you to do the things I can't. And then you say, 'Why thanks, Tony. I didn't know you thought so highly of me as an investigator. Alright. I'll finish some stuff today and fly there as soon as I'm able.' Thank you, Jim. I really appreciate the conversation we had. It was so fluid and real. You are such as good friend."

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," said Rhodey, hanging up.

"See, Friday? I told you he'd listen."

"Was that what happened?"

"Now, I'd like to begin this investigation before the rest of the house wakes up." He turned on the monitor of his computer. "Do you know anything you're not telling me, Friday?"

A heads up display appeared in the middle of the room, causing Tony to abandon the monitor and opt for the wider screen. It showed a photo of a man named Trevor Slattery with his criminal records and a bunch of videos right beside it.

"Trevor Slattery," he read. "Remind me again of who he is."

"Slattery is an actor that was hired by Aldrich Killian to play the Mandarin, who is believed to be affiliated with the terrorist organization known as the Ten Rings. As the Mandarin, Slattery took credit of the series of bombings that occurred in 2013 that was in reality caused by the volatility in Extremis. You and Rhodey later captured him and he was sent to Seagate Prison."

"Extremis, extremis. Isn't that Maya Hansen's creation? So, she didn't fix the glitch," Tony said to himself. "Why's Slattery so important?"

"Slattery was broken out of prison by persons unknown. The last one to have seen him was Jackson Norriss, a documentary maker who was doing a piece about the actor. Norriss is suspected to have killed the guard and an inmate during his scheduled interview and then proceeded to break Slattery out. Slattery's body appeared a few months ago with no evidence of where he's been or who killed him."

"So, was I following a lead on this fake when I went to Chile?" He blew up the photo of Slattery's cleaned naked corpse lying on a body tray at a morgue. His entire body was covered in multiple wounds not consistent with an autopsy; they were weird carvings Tony didn't recognize. What must have been bloody when it was first inflicted, the wounds were now clean. There was a triangle carved in the middle of his chest, inside it were several random slashes. A box encased the triangle and there were parallel diagonal lines on his ribs and numerous others on his sides. There were even more straight lines on his legs and widespread arms. On each of his palms was a circle and inside of that circle were more random cuts.

"Run the carvings on every known culture and religion."

He must have had the same thought in the past because Friday said, "We already did that and it does not match any known symbol, image, or crest. Neither has there been a similar case of mutilation." She put up an image of another person. "You tried to track down Norriss but only found evidence that he was recently in Chile. You flew there immediately and discovered a base stockpiled with weapons from different manufacturers. There were old Stark Industries weapons and Hammer technology as well. Men attacked you, strategically targeting the arc reactor power source and the weapons in the suit.

Tony's lips twitched. "Why didn't you tell Rhodey this? Or the Avengers?"

"This was filed under your private server which only you are authorized to access. I sent a distress signal seconds prior to the suit losing power. Thor and Dr. Banner arrived 6 hours later. It is unknown what occurred between those times."

"Do you have a recording of the fight? Let me hear it." He lifted himself up to sit on his work table.

An audio file went up on the display and he listened as he talked to Friday in the suit.

"There is a total of 19 heat signatures and dozens of cranes filled with weapons," Friday told him in the recording.

"Find me an entrance."

"The third window on the fourth floor. The room is empty."

"What is a house doing on top of a mountain?" he asked himself.

"Technically, boss, it's a shack. Although a bit on the large side… Two men approaching. Heavily armed." Sounds of gunshots and glass shattering followed the statement.

Tony heard himself grunt at something.

"Four men behind you, three to your right! They're using Stark missiles!"

"I can see that!" Then, he cursed at something that happened. "Ah, screw it."

"The flight here already used up half of the suit's power. Doing that will bring power down to 39%!"

"Sometimes Friday, you gotta lead with the big guns." The battle sounds subsided and he took a breath. "Now that that's over. Where's—" A huge blast cut him off.

"Power down to 35%... Left gauntlet damaged… Boss, it appears that they are targeting the weapons in the suit."

"I want to know how they know which parts to blow up!" Tony hissed, a strain in his voice. "Get me out of this corridor and to where the weapons are!"

"Finding an escape route now… Three doors down, the room under it."

Tony cursed.

"Flight systems damaged."

"HOW?!"

"Power down to 29%."

"There are weapons from almost every manufacturer in this place! Where did they get these?"

"9 new heat signatures detected."

"Well, I could use some of these big guns." He yelled and let out another series of expletives. "Where are they all coming from?!"

"Power down to 21%. I recommend calling for backup."

"Absolutely not! I'm not involving anyone else in this!"

"Your left rib is fractured! Power is down to 19%. They are using your own weapons against you. Now is not the time for ego, boss."

"It's not ego when you're protecting them," he grunted.

"RT window integrity down to 74%."

"Great. They're targeting the power source… Is there a Jericho in that pile?"

"There's a Jericho aimed in your direction!"

"They won't blow up their own—AAAH!"

Tony winced, imagining himself being thrown against concrete.

It was about a minute before there was any interaction between him and Friday.

"Power down to 9%."

"Get me out of here, Friday."

"I suggest calling Rhodey at least!"

"No. You saw what they did to Slattery. And if they can damage the suit this badly, I don't want Rhodey in here."

"One new heat signature detected."

"Find out what they're using as transport. Is there a hidden bunker, a helicopter? If there's a jet in here I want to know."

"There is an underground tunnel leading to the city."

"What's not damaged in the suit?"

"Right gauntlet and one missile launcher." There was an explosion. "Zero missile launchers. Power down to 2%."

"That's just enough power to last me until the city. Call in a medical team to meet me."

There was a few minutes of silence as Tony must have started walking in the tunnel.

"Boss, I hate to say it but the system is f…" she trailed off, her voice becoming distorted and then eventually, the log ended.

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "Who were they? Who did they work for?"

"Unknown."

He shook his head, refusing to believe that in 2016, with all the technology and intelligence at his disposal, his AI couldn't identify a bunch of soldiers.

"You got to try harder, Friday! Because those men knew exactly where to target their guns, knew exactly what to do to penetrate the protective casing of the RT! Nobody knows any of this except for me. So, unless you're compromised, which I know is impossible, you give me something better than 'unknown'!" He slammed a hand on the table.

"My apologies, boss. The facial scan has yet to ID any of the faces we encountered and Norriss still hasn't turned up on the grid."

Tony jumped off the table and headed for the staircase, trying to ignore the guilty feeling in his chest for being unfair to Friday. "Tell me when he does."

He went back up to his bedroom and took a shower. Afterwards, he left the mansion for a quick drive to let off some frustration. He returned in a much better mood, along with a box of Cinnabon and two cups of coffee. He transferred the cinnamon rolls onto a plate and poured his coffee into a mug.

That was how Pepper found him when she walked in. She stopped at the domesticated sight of him.

"What?" he asked her. Was seeing him standing in the kitchen _that_ weird?

"You made breakfast?" she asked after recovering. She sat down, took a roll, and placed it on her plate.

"Bought breakfast, actually. I was up early. Coffee?" he anxiously held up a cup to her. He didn't know how to act towards her after last night.

She took it, eyeing him suspiciously before she sat down. "I'm guessing you had a nice sleep." A silent question about whether or not he recovered a memory accompanied the statement.

Tony pulled out a chair and sat too. "Well, if you call remembering being waterboarded by terrorists and seeing people killed by your own weapons a nice sleep."

Pepper choked on the coffee. "What?"

"I remembered Afghanistan," he said passing her a napkin.

"I'm sorry." She took it and dabbed on her mouth. "Of all the things to remember, it had to be that. I know you didn't like it."

"Don't have to like it for it to be useful. But you were right. I did need the real thing to remember; I just didn't remember you." He poked at his cinnamon roll. He had this all planned out in the car earlier but he's suddenly tongue tied. "I'm… I'm sorry for my behavior last night and these past couple days." He looked at her. "I'm sorry about the whole thing actually. I was a jerk. You didn't agree to marry a jerk."

"You saying sorry, which is rare by the way, is enough punishment." She cut the roll in half. "But I do have to say I forgave you the minute you called me Pepper and not Ginger last night. I don't think I could've handled the whole Ginger thing for another day," she admitted.

"Bad memories of high school?"

"Exactly." She took a bite of the roll, closing her eyes at the taste. "Hmm. Cinnabon?"

Tony nodded lightheartedly, trying not to show that he was proud with himself for having successfully apologized to her.

"You at breakfast _and_ Cinnabons? You'll make the kids' morning."

"And yours?" Tony asked, a bit nervous of her answer.

"You had me at 'coffee.'" Pepper took another bite and with a satisfied smile, he continued to eat.

The phone on the table vibrated with a glow. As Pepper took it to read the message, the two children entered the kitchen. Their eyes widened seeing their father at the table. They both launched themselves at him and began talking at the same time.

"You're back! You're not gonna go 'way for work again, are you?"

"Are we gonna work in the shop like you said? We can work on Parker!"

Pepper laughed, putting her phone back down. "Why don't you two greet your dad a good morning first?"

"Good morning!" they both said in unison before moving to sit down. They both let out a "yay" when they saw the cinnamon rolls.

"So, where did you go this time, dad?" asked Philip while chewing on the roll. A look from his mother and he closed his mouth, chewing properly.

Tony shared a look with Pepper and said in reply, "I went to look for my memories."

"You mean they're out there?" asked Maria.

"You can say that."

"Did you find 'em?" asked Philip after swallowing.

"Uh, yeah. Some."

Tony debated with himself about whether or not he should tell them what he was about to say. He put down the roll and wiped his fingers on a napkin, opting for full disclosure. "I remembered an old friend and meeting your mom."

Pepper cast him a look, surprised.

"Did I, um, ever tell you of how I met her?" Tony asked the kids who shook their heads.

"She discovered a mistake that I made at work and you know that I'm never wrong, right?"

They nodded their heads vigorously.

"You're always right until mommy says you're not," Maria said causing Pepper to tinkle with laughter.

"That's true!" Tony held up his pointer finger. "And that's exactly what happened. Your mom stormed into my office demanding that I listen to her and then when the security guards stepped in to remove her, she threatened to spray them with pepper spray! That was enough to get me to listen."

"What happened after?" asked Philip.

"Are the guards okay?" asked his sister.

"They're alright. But _I_ wasn't, my ego was bruised. Turns out your mom _was_ right. I _did_ commit a mistake. And I was so impressed by her courage that I gave her a promotion and made her my personal assistant. I also started calling her Pepper which she loved."

"No, I didn't."

"Which she learned to love," Tony corrected himself.

"That I did."

They both shared a smile and something stirred in Tony's chest. But it was over as quickly as it happened because she turned to the children and said, "Listen, you guys. Something came up at work and I need to leave."

Maria frowned and her mother added hastily, "I'll be back before lunch. Anyway, dad's here and you three are about due for some quality time together." She looked at Tony to see if he was okay with it. There was a weird smile on his face. He got up, took her hand and led her away from the table.

"I don't think I'm the right person to watch over them. I might lose them," Tony whispered when they were out of earshot.

"You said the exact same thing the first time I left you alone with Philip. And I'm going to tell the same thing I told you then: a person with a Ph.D. in Engineering couldn't possible lose a three-year-old and a four year-old in his own house with a butler who has eyes and ears everywhere."

Tony knew he was being ridiculous but babysitting had never been his strongest suit. Usually people babysat _him._ He looked at the children whose faces had crumbs and cinnamon sauce. "And how'd I do?"

"Well, you didn't lose the kid and aside from the diaper mishap and the mess in the nursery, it was a success."

Maria was now licking her fingers and Philip was finishing off his sister's roll.

"You were pretty great with them a while ago and they really want to spend more time with you."

"You're basing my performance off of one storytelling session."

"If you're uncomfortable with this, I can call a sitter."

"No," Tony said, facing her. "It's about time I accept my daddy title. I'm just not used to kids calling me that. Usually women—"

"Don't even finish that sentence."

Pepper walked back to the table and Tony followed.

When she told the kids the plan, Maria bounced in her seat.

"We can work on Parker!" whispered Philip to his dad.

Pepper narrowed her eyes at them, having heard the eldest child's plan. But she said nothing about it. "Alright. Maria, come on. We got to shower. You too, Philip!" She helped Maria down her seat and walked out the kitchen hand in hand.

The boy grumbled as he followed them out. "I don't like showering."

"You and me both, pal. But girls don't like it when we stink."

…

Tony stared at the two large robotic figures kept inside a huge steel chest in the basement. When Pepper left for the office, the two kids had immediately dragged him down to his workshop to work on their unfinished project. The project was about three feet wide and two feet tall; each one had spider legs and a flat platform with handles on top of its body.

"What are those?"

"Peter and Parker!" said Maria enthusiastically.

Tony shook his head, not understanding. "Friday, I need you to translate."

"They're robots, boss, named Peter and Parker."

Tony squatted down to the kids' eye level. "And why did the two of you even think you needed a robot that looks like… that?"

Both kids started talking at the same time again, making Tony's ears ring. He covered both of their mouths, saying "one at a time." He took the hand away from Philip's mouth and said, "you first."

"I wanted to have someone like Dum-E help me make stuff too. And you thought making it into a spider would scare mom at night."

"Uh-huh," Tony uncovered Maria's mouth, "you next."

"Uncle Scott gave Cassie a giant ant that helps her finish her food and gives her rides on its back. So I want a giant bug that I can ride too!"

"And we named it Peter and Parker after Peter Parker! Because Spiderman's cool." His son threw out his arms, bent his middle and ring fingers to his palms repeatedly, and started making whoosh sounds.

Tony stood up, running a hand over his mouth. "I have no idea who those are." He took a look at the spider robots again. If he had thought this was a good idea in the past, who was he to disagree with himself? Anyway, he didn't have any better ideas at the moment.

He lifted one spider bot and placed it on his work table. After doing the same with the other, he dragged two extra chairs and put it on either side of his own seat so that the kids could sit beside him.

They all sat down and Tony began to study the robots.

"I thought of something real cool," said Philip.

"What's that?" Tony glanced at Maria who moved to stand on her chair and link her arms around his neck.

"We could make Parker like that lizard that changes color to match the environment."

"A chameleon?"

"Yeah! A chameleon! But a chameleon spider!"

"That's cool." Tony agreed, turning his attention back to the robot. He was about to screw in a screw but changed his mind at the last minute; he handed the screwdriver to Philip instead. He did the same to Maria but she shook her head saying, "Mommy says I'm not 'llowed to help you until I'm this many." She held up four fingers and then brought them back around his neck.

"Oh. Okay." Tony grabbed the second screwdriver and worked on the other robot, trying to ignore what felt like a monkey hanging on his neck. "But a chameleon spider would mean that we're going to have to change the entire thing and use different panels. Do you want to wait for that?" he asked Philip who frowned in reply.

The toddler put the screwdriver down, finished with his task. "Naah. I want Parker now."

"How about we make an actual chameleon robot to annoy and scare your mother?"

Philip grinned and nodded. There was no doubt that this was his son.

"Daddy, can Peter be blue, red, and white?" asked Maria, her breath tickling his ear.

"Whatever color you want. But Maria," Tony pulled her small hands away from his neck and placed them at her sides, "your hands need to stay right there when I'm working." He turned back to the robot, changed the screwdriver for another tool and began filing the sides. As he did so, he noticed Maria place her hands on his shoulder and dug into it as she watched the process. He sighed and stopped what he was doing to give her a look that he hoped wasn't too mean. "Maria, what did I say about your hands? You're like a bug. I swat you away and you come back."

She giggled in response.

"That's because she is, dad," said Philip

"She's what?"

"A bug."

"That's what you call me, daddy! I'm your ladybug." Maria wrapped her arms around his waist.

 _This is a work hazard_ , Tony thought.

"Okay, Miss Ladybug,"

Maria shook her head. "Not ladybug. You call me 'bug.'"

"Okaaay, _bug_ , could you keep your hands to yourself for now?"

She quickly transferred the hands in question to each side of his cheek, pressed on them, looked him unblinkingly in the eyes and whispered, "but we have to touch, daddy."

"Why?!"

"Because you get your energy when I touch you! That's how I help you work."

Tony's first instinct was to frown and say how stupid that was, that instead of helping him she was getting in his way. But then he saw in her eyes how much she believed she was helping. This was probably what he said to her in the past to make up for the no-help-under-4 rule, and she took her role as his energy bar seriously.

His gaze turned soft and he took her hands away from his face. He held them up to her eye level. "Alright. But these have to stay on my lap instead. I might hit you when I move to fix things."

Maria bobbed her head up and down and did as she was told.

Tony filed Philip's spider next and then connected some wires in. He flipped the robots over and after he was satisfied, put them back in the proper side again. "Well, these are finished. We just need to upload the program."

"What does that mean, daddy?" asked Maria.

"It means we're giving the robots it's, um, spirit. Like we're putting," his forehead wrinkled in thought, "what are their names again?"

"Parker and Peter," supplied Philip.

"We're going to put Parker and Peter inside of the spiders so that when you talk to it, it'll understand and follow orders."

"Like Dum-E and U," added the boy again.

"Weeelll, hopefully a bit smarter."

Tony plugged in the robots into the computer and let Friday upload the system. "You tell us when it's done, okay, Friday?"

"Will do, boss."

"And don't forget that other thing I told you about. I want you to update me on that too."

"Will that be all, Mr. Stark?" asked the AI in the same manner Pepper did in his memory.

Tony couldn't help but grin. "That will be all."

While the three of them cleared away the tools and the extra screws, Tony thought of how their first task came as a breeze. Nobody lost any fingers to the robot spider, nobody disappeared suddenly, and nobody was crying!

 _What should we do next?_ he thought, _the more time you spend doing something, the less time you're going to spend thinking about screwing this entire operation, Stark! Now, what do these munchkins like to do?_

He reviewed what he knew about them during the time he spent in their junior workshop and a thought occurred to him. "How about we go see that jetpack backpack you told me about?"

The children's faces lit up with sudden excitement and they both cried out, "jetpack backpacks!" They each took a hand and pulled him over to a shelf, pointing to the topmost one. Tony reached over and took out three of four jetpacks.

"Boss, I have to say that—"

"Don't be a killjoy, Friday. You just focus on the Peter and the Parker and the other thing. "

"But—"

"Mute."

They climbed up the stairs and went to the living room. It would be high and spacious enough for them to fly around in.

Tony strapped himself up, helped the kids in turn, and with a warning of "Don't break anything!" they started flying around the house. That was how he discovered that he liked flying and actually knew how to make sharp turns and flips even though his age had made him think it was impossible. It was almost as if flying was second nature.

"Whoa! Dad! That is so cool! How'd did you do that? I want to try!"

"Look, daddy!"

The two of them attempted to imitate whatever stunt their father pulled, grasping at walls as they went.

After an hour of tumbles in the air and zooming up and down, Philip cried out, "Let's play tag!"

"Daddy, you're it!" They both zipped past him in peals of laughter and screams, heading to the second floor.

Much more adept at jetpack flying than either of the kids, Tony managed to catch a giggling Maria. "Gotcha! Gotta catch me next!" He headed back down to the living room, narrowly avoiding the corner wall. But his daughter hadn't and he realized it too late. The sharp turn he had made caused her to hit her arm as she reached out for him.

She let out a shriek that Tony swore he'd remember it all the days of his life. She was still in the air and clutching at her arm when Philip raced to her and brought them both down.

Tony powered off his jetpack and ran to them.

"Daddy, it hurts!" she wailed.

Tony couldn't see anything with her clutching at her arm but he bet that a bone was broken.

 _Oh boy. Pepper's gonna kill me._

"What are we going to do, dad?" Philip asked, frightened.

It was at that moment that Pepper walked in. Tony didn't hear her arrive. Had she been watching them all this time?

"Mom!"

"Mommy!"

"What happened?" Pepper rushed up to them and gathered the crying child in her arms.

"My arm hurts!" The three-year-old's face was red from the pain and the sobbing.

"We were flying in the house when she flew right to the wall and hit her arm and—"

"You were what?!"

Tony gulped. "Flying."

If he had his memories back, he's a hundred percent positive that this was her expression before she was about to commit a murder.

"You were flying in the house?" Pepper repeated dangerously, almost as if willing him to say something different the second time.

"I know! I'm sorry!" Tony winced, expecting her to yell at him. But she didn't. "I shouldn't have done it! But we wanted to do something together, and I thought maybe they'd all enjoy flying. And they did. Until this happened. I'm so sorry, Pepper. You trusted me to take care of the kids while you were out. You've told me dozens of times not to let them use the jetpack inside the house because one of them's bound to get hurt and I didn't listen. You were right. Maria's hurt and now we have to take her to the hospital because I think a bone's broken. I'm really sorry, bug. Daddy's really sorry."

"Will I get a different arm like Uncle Bucky?" Maria asked him in between the small sobs racking her body.

"What? I… No. They're going to give you a cast. It's… It's like a bandaid but heavier and they wrap it all over your arm that way your bones don't move too much and they can grow back properly."

She sniffed. "Can the cast be pink?"

"It can be whatever you want it to be, bug."

She stopped crying.

Tony carefully picked her up from Pepper's arms and settled her on the couch.

"I'll get the car ready. Pep, you and the kids meet me out front?"

Pepper didn't reply. Instead, she rose to her feet and walked towards him with a look on her face that Tony didn't recognize. He hasn't hung around long enough to know her different faces; all he knew was crying, teasing, forgiving, and hostile. Exclusively in that order.

"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Tony, you remember," Pepper said softly.

"Remember what?" he wondered, "Yeah, I remembered how we met that's why I call you Pepper. Didn't we just talk about this this morning?"

Pepper shook her head. "The no flying rule. You said I told it to you dozens of times but Tony, I didn't mention it before I left. I haven't mentioned it, not once since your accident. _You_ remembered it!"

"I…" He tried to think back to the memory and there it was. Pepper reminding him over and over again not to leave the jetpack where the kids could reach it, not to let the kids use it in the house, no flying in the house or else he'd be sleeping outside of it.

This is the first time he's recovered a memory while he was awake! "I do remember it! It's there! It's as clear as I'm seeing you right now!"

Philip whooped. "What else do you remember, dad?" the boy asked

Tony tried to look beyond the memories but aside from the ones he had already recovered, he found a hazy cloud.

 _Nothing._

He shook his head. "That's it."

Pepper grasped his hand. "It's okay. With the other things you remembered, this is progress." She jerked her head at Maria. "Now, come on. Your daughter needs a doctor."

Tony hesitated. "You're not going to make me sleep outside, are you?"

Pepper laughed, remembering the threat she gave him about breaking the no flying rule. "No. That memory of yours saved your ass. And besides, we just got you back. I kind of like having you in bed with me even if we don't touch."

…

They were in the waiting room waiting for Pepper to come back with the discharge papers.

"How you doing, bug?" Tony asked the little girl who, no longer red faced and teary eyed, had a carton of fries trapped between her thighs and with her cast-free left hand stuffed her mouth with the said potatoes. They had stopped at a drive-thru on the way since they might take a while in the hospital. But the name Stark and the fact that Stark Industries donated a lot to the establishment made things go faster than normal.

"It's not heavy," Maria replied, referring to the pink cast on her right arm.

"Did it hurt when they put the bones back?" asked her brother who was still chewing on a burger.

Maria nodded. "But only for a little while. Like a pinch. Like this!" She pinched his arm. "Only harder."

"Oh! That's not too bad."

"Mm hmm."

Tony stared at them, unsure if calm was a normal post-bone-break reaction. He felt bad enough that he landed her in this state; his stomach was already churning at the thought that she couldn't play the piano for a while. He'd rather she was upset so he could do something about it instead of her being happy and bubbly.

"Kids bounce back fast."

Tony turned to see Pepper had returned and seated herself beside him, watching him watch the children.

"But this fast?" he replied in a low voice. "This is… weird."

"Wait until they guilt trip you into doing things. Now, _that's_ weird. I don't know how they do it. It's like they have a natural instinct to use people's mistakes against you." She took out some wet wipes from her purse and handed it to the children, instructing "Wipe your hands and your mouths and throw those in the proper bins, please."

They followed obediently and then they headed back to the car.

Once inside, Philip asked, "Where are we going now?"

"Home. Your sister needs to rest," replied their mother.

The two of them whined in complaint.

"Can we stay out a little longer?"

"I don't want to go home!"

"We can go to the park!" offered Philip, "Dad, you said you'd take us to Pacific Park but you never did 'cause you had to go to work."

"Yeah! We can go now!"

"It'll make Maria feel a lot better and make her forget the pain in her arm," added Philip.

The sounds of his daughter crying in pain echoed in Tony's head and suddenly the thought of returning home wasn't such a good idea. "Of course, we can go. We'll go right now." He checked his watch and then changed the direction the car was heading. "It's just 1:30. We have the whole afternoon. Anything you want just say it."

"Yay!" they cried.

"In case you didn't notice that was them guilt tripping you," whispered Pepper.

"What? No. Nobody guilt trips Tony Stark. I would notice." He looked at the gleeful look on the kids' faces from the rearview mirror. The little girl didn't look like she found her reset arm painful.

 _Oh, they did._

"You didn't stop me?" Tony hissed at his wife while keeping his eyes on the road.

Pepper shrugged. "I couldn't resist. Plus, we could use a family bonding."

…

When they arrived, the kids went on almost every ride that they were allowed on. They began with the Ferris wheel, followed by a ride on the bump cars. The boys teamed up against the girls (Pepper drove the car really slow so as not to distress Maria's arm), with the latter winning after three rounds.

"That's only because we _let_ you win, right dad?"

"Right. Because we're gentlemen."

Then they rode on Inkie's Air Lift where Maria and Philip rotated the balloon car as it went up and down; Pepper didn't enjoy the ride as much as Tony and the kids did.

At Pepper's green expression, Tony asked her, "How are you not used to this? You have a jetpack at home."

"And you'll notice I barely use mine."

The boys also went on the Frog Hopper while the girls went to the gift shop for some shopping. They met back in the store with Philip recounting the entire ride experience for his mother. "We were so high! And then it just dropped to the ground!" He jumped and then crouched down as he landed.

"That seems scary," commented Pepper who tried to fight a giggle at the sight of her husband who was being fitted for bunny ears by his three-year-old daughter.

"Help," Tony mouthed to her.

On the way out, they passed by a face painting booth which the kids pleaded to try out.

Pepper stayed with them while Tony left to go buy them ice cream. He took a while since he got held up by children who wanted to take photos with him. When he returned, Maria's face was being painted the red, white, and blue of Captain America while Philip's face was painted the red and gold of Iron Man.

Tony was glad Pepper took the two ice cream cones from him because he would've dropped them a second later.

Pepper seemed to know what he was planning because she said, "Be nice."

To Philip Tony said, "you look very cool, buddy. Iron Man approves," and to Maria, he braced himself. "What's that on your face, bug? Is that..." he struggled to say it. "Is that Captain America?"

Maria couldn't nod because the finishing touches were still being put on her forehead. So, she said, "Yeah. He's handsome and strong! And I'm going to marry him."

Tony blanched. All his dad could talk about was Captain America. Now, his daughter was one of his groupies too? "What? No. No, you're not. Pepper, help me out."

Pepper hid an amused grin. "I don't know. I think he'd be a good son-in-law. Very patriotic."

Tony was about to cry out otherwise when he realized she was teasing him. Obviously his daughter wasn't about to go marry a hundred-year-old guy. _Duh._

When it was done, Maria was lifted down from the high stool and she took the ice cream cone Pepper held out to her. Philip was already halfway done with his.

"But you do know that Steve is, like, 100 years old, right, bug?" Tony continued.

"Cassie said age doesn't matter. And I believe Cassie 'cause Cassie is this many." She held up three fingers on the hand holding the cone, and extended all of her fingers on her right hand. Tony didn't understand what number she was trying to convey.

"Who's Cassie?"

"My best friend!" she said in a tone that told him he should know who Cassie was.

"And you didn't like the other choices they had? There were lots of Disney princesses in there. Mulan is pretty cool. You didn't like the Iron Man or Thor? Your brother got the Iron Man painted on his face."

Maria scrunched up her nose. "I like you alright, daddy. But I can't marry you. You're already married to mommy." She skipped along ahead of him.

"Ah... that... I don't" Tony sighed in defeat and Pepper laughed, patting his back. "It's okay. You still got the little guy."

"She's washing that off when she takes a bath, right?"

They followed the children to the games tent where Philip was working on a game with the human body.

"I know this game!" said Tony as he watched the toddler play. "You have to move the needle to the end of the maze while making sure it doesn't touch the sides or else you get zapped by electricity."

"What?" Maria asked, amazed that her brother would risk getting electrocuted for a game.

Philip's needle hit a wall and a small light in the center of the body lit up in a red color. He shook his head and looked up at his dad. "No zapping. Just that red dot."

"That's safer," stated Pepper.

Maria took a turn and then they both gave up two tries later.

They managed to get home at almost 10 in evening with Pepper carrying a sleeping Maria through the door, while Tony had Philip in a similar state against his chest.

"I don't know how they're knocked out. They had cotton candy and soda for dinner," he whispered to Pepper as they entered the kids' bedroom.

"Just be thankful they're asleep and not on a sugar rush."

After depositing the kids into their beds and changing them into their pajamas, he went into the bathroom and came out with a damp hand towel. Kneeling by Maria's bedside, he took extra care not to wake her as he gently wiped the face paint off her face.

He heard Pepper chuckle but she ended up doing the same thing to Philip.

Afterwards, they both wordlessly went to their bedroom, changed out of their clothes and collapsed on the bed, exhausted.

…

There was something vibrating on his bed. It was followed by a giggle.

Tony felt something cold touch his feet and his eyes flew open. He glanced down to the edge of the bed where there were two moving lumps.

 _The munchkins are awake,_ he thought, still a bit bleary-eyed. He tried to move himself to a sitting position when he felt a weight on his stomach. He looked for the source and found Pepper; she had moved closer and spooned up against him as they slept, an arm draped over him.

He relaxed back down, assessing his current situation. He was in bed with a woman—not just any woman but his wife—who he found remarkable and capable and fascinating and there's that stirring in his chest again that occurs the longer he thinks of adjectives to describe her. Not to mention they're touching in a quite intimate way. And there are giggling children by the foot of his bed.

 _This is a first._

The lumps move toward him and he wiggled his feet around, causing the two kids to shriek in laughter.

"Ssh!" he whispered at them but too late; Pepper was rousing awake. She gazed up at him, appearing still addled by sleep.

"Morning," he said.

Her eyes flitted back closed and then the arm around his stomach tightened as she drew him nearer.

"Morning," she breathed.

They stayed that way for a moment until her body stiffened and she looked back up at him, then at her arm, and finally she sat up. "I'm sorry. I—I didn't—I don't know… why I did that." Her face grew red and he had to suppress an amused smile. The blush was quite becoming on her.

"It's fine. I've never woken up to an encroaching arm before. It was nice and harmless. And its nails was very well manicured."

Pepper smacked him playfully, realizing he didn't find the whole thing uncomfortable and was actually teasing her about it.

The lumps moved further up with hushed whispers.

Pepper raised an eyebrow at Tony who only pressed a finger to his lips so as to not give them away. She gathered the blanket in her hand and he did the same. Together they lifted it up, revealing the children.

The kids squealed in surprise.

"How'd did you know it was us?" asked Maria with a toothy grin.

"I could smell your cotton candy breath," replied Tony who peered at her teeth. "Did you have candy for breakfast?"

She shook her head.

"We fell asleep last night without brushing our teeth," explained Philip.

"Why don't you two go brush right now and then we'll make some breakfast?" suggested their mother.

They both nodded and ran out. As soon as the door closed behind them, Tony turned to Pepper and asked, "Do I know how to make breakfast?"

"Unless breakfast involves connecting wires, no you do not. But I got it covered." She put on her robe and headed down the stairs.

Thirty minutes later, the four of them were enjoying eggs and waffles. This was the second time Tony had breakfast with his family and one of the rare times when he ate an actual breakfast. Usually, he skipped the so-called most important meal of the day, being too busy with designing bombs to feed himself before his PA did. When he _did_ have breakfast in the past it would either be fastfood or a protein shake. But this breakfast, the one with the incessant chatter coming from the toddlers, the one with the beautiful redhead across from him, this one he could see himself getting used to.

Tony was about to finish off his last bite when Friday announced Rhodey's arrival. And just like that, he felt the blissful breakfast dissipate and turn into something temporary and fleeting because Rhodey's arrival reminded him of what he still had to do, of what he couldn't remember.

Pepper welcomed the pilot when he entered the kitchen, probably too used to his unexpected visits to ask for a reason why. "Have some waffles, Jim," she offered, seating him to an empty chair at the table.

"Thanks, Pep. Maybe just one bite." Rhodey wound up eating two pieces while listening to the kids tell him what happened the day before.

After breakfast, Rhodey and Tony excused themselves and went to the basement where the latter could catch the colonel up on what he had discovered. Tony showed him the pictures and the names Friday had presented to him yesterday. Rhodey especially thought the photo of Slattery's corpse peculiar for the same reasons his friend did.

"Have you seen anything like this in the military?"

"No, man." Rhodey folded his arms. "All I saw from where I was seated was a bunch of clouds and red dots in the monitor."

"Red dots," Tony mumbled to himself, an idea forming in his mind. "Friday, get me an outline of Slattery's body along with the wound patterns. Exclude the organs."

"What are you thinking?" asked Rhodey.

"Yesterday, Philip was playing this game like a maze inside a human body. I'm thinking if you put the wounds and the outline together, it looks like…"

The image on the screen was that of a body, the parallel diagonal lines on the ribs were abs, and the slashes on the sides were ridges. The lines on the legs and arms looked like folds and muscles. In the center of his chest was what appeared to be a shattered triangle, and on each of his palm were splintered circles. If it were three dimensional and colored, it would look like a drawing of a suit of armor with a broken Arc Reactor and ruined repulsors.

"Iron Man," Rhodey finished.

"This is a message," Tony concluded, turning to him. "This is a message to me. Or it was but I didn't understand what it meant. This is what happened in the fight! You heard the log. They targeted the RT, my weapons; my suit was ruined."

"But how could they have known you would go to Chile?"

Tony shrugged. "Maybe they didn't. Maybe I made their job easier for them by going there. I hand delivered myself right to their doorstep."

"But who's they?"

"Allow me to present an answer," said Friday, "I got a 65% match on Norriss' facial scan in LAX." She showed them a security camera footage of a bearded man in a baseball cap walking down a gate in the said airport.

"Could be him hiding in the busiest airport," said Rhodey.

"It also could not be him," cautioned Tony.

"Guess we'll find out." Rhodey put his jacket back on and walked towards the staircase.

"Where are you going?"

"To do what you called me to do. I'll contact you on a location once I manage to intercept him."

 **A/N: How was this chapter? Was it too fast? Tell me what you think with a review.**

 **I have never actually been to Pacific Park. All the details about it are taken from the internet and some stuff that I assumed would be present based on the other theme parks I've went to.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Iron Man or any of the Marvel characters in this story. What is written here is for entertainment purposes only. I do not make any profits from it.**

While waiting for Rhodey to come through, Tony went back up to the living room where he found his wife lounging on the couch and reading a novel.

"Hey!" Pepper greeted, looking up from the book. "Rhodey left."

"Yeah. He had something he needed to do." Tony sat down beside her. "Kids?"

"Napping."

"That's all they seem to do these days. Sleep, eat, run around. Don't they have school or something?"

"It's summer."

Tony opened his mouth to form an 'ah.' He crossed his legs and watched her. Pepper had no idea what he was doing in his workshop, no idea that he was waiting on his best friend to arrest a suspect, no inkling at all that he had disregarded her advice to stop seeking his memories. And now that he had the time to think about it, Tony didn't like that he was lying to her. Well, not telling her anything wasn't exactly lying, but it didn't sink well with him all the same.

Pepper noticed him staring and she asked, amused, "Are you watching me read?"

"What? I… uh… yes." Tony didn't know what else to say without giving anything up.

She chuckled, putting the book away. She faced him, her expression turning serious. "I need to talk to you."

A paranoid thought came to him. _She knows._

"I had this weird feeling when you and Rhodey left the kitchen this morning," she began.

Tony paled. _It's over!_

"It got me thinking about what would happen if you left us. The amnesia made me realize that there are other ways to lose you. I know you said you didn't want to back at the hospital, but it would really make me feel better if you saw John again or a neurologist."

Whatever he thought she would say, it wasn't that.

Pepper continued, oblivious to her husband's state. "You're recovering really well and I just want to make sure that nothing else is going to happen that might take you away from us because I feel like we're starting to be like the way we used to. I mean, what if your amnesia isn't due to a concussion but because of a tumor pressing into your brain or a virus? I'm thinking too morbid thoughts, aren't I?" she was rambling now, looking like she wanted to stop talking but couldn't. "Or all those missions you've survived could have just given way for a different injury. I don't want to think about it but it's all I can think about now that I mention it. If it _is_ a tumor, we have to see if it's hereditary so we can find out if the kids have it. But that's ridiculous because Bruce ordered a brain scan on you when you were in the hospital in Chile and they didn't find anything. So, it's not a tumor or anything at all and it really all was because you bumped your head too hard and forgot us. But I really think it's a tumor." Her eyes widened and she sent an accusing glare at him. "It's not a tumor, is it? You're not dying again, are you? Is that why you didn't want to take the MRI back in the hospital? Because you really are actually dying and you didn't want me to find out?"

Tony blinked at her in response, quite surprised that she hadn't caught on to him at all but too overwhelmed to process the amount of theories she was spouting.

When he didn't reply, she hit him on the arm believing his silence was confirmation of her worries. "I can't believe you! How many times do you have to not tell me you're dying!?"

Tears started to pool in her eyes and it brought some sense of urgency into him. "What? No! I'm not dying! Or at least, I don't think I am."

"Are you sure? You have amnesia."

Tony drew her close, drawing her head against his chest with his hand.

"Will you please talk to John or somebody with an MD?" Her voice was muffled against his shirt but he heard her. He also heard and saw just how much she's been through because of him and the toll it's taken on her.

"Okay." _It's the least I could do,_ he silently added.

"Thank you."

Pepper snuggled deeper against him, enjoying the rare moment of intimacy that he allowed her.

Tony's phone vibrated in his pocket and she lifted her head as he pulled it out to read the message. It was a encrypted text from Rhodey saying "Package is authentic" along with the coordinates to a secure location.

"I have to go." He rose from the sofa without another word or even a glance at Pepper, too focused on thinking about what was coming. He headed for his garage.

"You're going to see John _now_?" Pepper called after him.

"What? Uh, yeah!"

…

It didn't take long for Tony to meet Rhodey at an unused S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house. He was surprised to find that he had invited Wanda and Natasha to their secret investigation too.

They were currently in the living room while Norriss was in the kitchen strapped to a chair.

"I didn't realize this was a three man job," Tony stated, whipping off his sunglasses and pocketing it.

"As much as I'm against it, we might need their expertise on enhanced interrogation," explained Rhodey.

"You mean torture." Tony didn't know how to feel about that; he had never tortured someone before. But Natasha surely had and the Scarlet Witch was called a witch for a reason.

"Relax," said the redhead while chewing a bubblegum. She plopped herself on the couch and Wanda sat herself on its arm. "There won't be any need for that when we have Wanda here to get in his head. I just tagged along for the fun."

"You have too much faith in my abilities," said Wanda.

Tony glanced at the kitchen. "I'm assuming he's our guy seeing as you have him tied to a chair."

Rhodey nodded. "Biometrics at Seagate Prison confirm he's Jackson Norriss although whether that's his real name is to be determined. He had a plane ticket headed to Hong Kong and was traveling under the name of Mitchell Pace."

"Well," Tony folded his arms. "Let's go see him."

With the girls staying where they were, the two men entered the kitchen.

"I'm rather surprised you're back on your feet, Stark," Norriss stated when he saw them. "Have you accepted the absence of your memories and chosen to go on with life without them?"

"Who told you about that?" asked Rhodey, "Nothing was ever released to the press."

Norriss smiled, making them feel that he had knowledge they did not. "We have soldiers everywhere."

"It seems that you have them in Chile too. They almost got away with killing me," said Tony, grabbing a chair and sitting down. "I got the message left on Slattery's body." He left out the part where he had only _just_ uncovered it.

Norriss smirked. "The goal was to destroy Iron Man and we did."

Tony and Rhodey shared a confused look.

"Uh, I don't know if you noticed but he's still alive," said Rhodey.

Tony put a hand on his chest and felt for his heartbeat. "Yep. It's still beating. Thump thump."

The prisoner smiled smugly. "The body is alive, but the mind is not. Iron Man is dead along with your memories."

The two friends exchanged a look again. With all the soldier knew, he was unaware that Tony had recovered some memories and it was a card they could use.

The billionaire shook a finger at Norriss. "Does that mean losing my memories was part of your plan?"

Norriss snorted. "We do not _plan_ anything. We only follow."

"Who?" asked Rhodey. "Who do you follow?"

Norriss ignored the question and continued, "We become anyone he wants us to be. We are the gardeners treating your lawns, the terrorists in your caves, the people running your malls, the teachers of your children."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Who's the man handing you your roles? Give me an answer and I won't let them torture you."

Norriss cackled at the thought. "You are ignorant of us in society. Your daughter especially doesn't realize her piano teacher has a gun hidden under the instrument. Even your son fails to see that his soccer coach has something special in his pocket. It would be terrible if something were to happen to them, wouldn't it?"

Rhodey jumped back as Tony suddenly grabbed a fistful of Norriss' shirt and said through grit teeth, "You're lying. You think you're so well hidden. But guess what? We found you. And what do you think your all great and powerful leader will do once he gets wind of your capture? You think he's going to believe you didn't spill his dirty secrets?"

"The Master will make the necessary sacrifice. And so will I."

Tony let go of Norriss and nodded his head to Rhodey. They both walked back out to the living room.

"You're up," said Rhodey to Wanda who got to her feet.

"Whoa. Wait." Tony held up a hand. "What are you going to do? Are you going to make him see his worst fears? Make him think he's being tortured?" When Wanda opened her mouth to reply, he said, "No, nevermind. The less I know the better."

The young woman looked confused before an impish smile appeared on her face. She headed for the kitchen, with the two men and Natasha following.

"Finally. The fun's starting," said the Black Widow.

Norriss looked up in awe when they entered, eyes fixated on Wanda.

"Master!" He lowered his head in reverence.

Tony faltered in his steps. Was this what Rhodey meant by enhanced interrogation? Illusions? He thought they were going to put the fear of God in him.

"I did not tell Stark and his sidekick anything," continued Norriss, head still bowed.

"I'm not a side—"

"Ssh!"

"Tell me," said Wanda. "How am I to trust you if you have been captured by them?"

Norriss' head shot up. "I told them nothing, Master! I swear!" His eyes lingered over to Natasha, Rhodey, and Tony, studying them.

"I believe you. But with me are three others who would like to know how we managed to defeat the great Tony Stark. I want you to answer their questions."

"Yes, Master."

Wanda nodded his head to Rhodey and Tony who then asked, "How did the soldiers in Chile know how to destroy the Iron Man suit?"

"After Stark's escape from Afghanistan using his suit of armor, we knew we could not defeat him unless we could destroy the suit he hid behind. We studied him and the War Machine for years. Arranging world crises in order to scan the suits while in action. We spent years gathering data and finally completed it in 2012. But Trevor Slattery put our plans on hold and the Master decided he must be dealt with."

"Who do you work for?" asked Rhodey.

Norriss looked to Wanda, confused as to why he was being asked a question that they must already know. When she nodded, he answered, "Our organization is called the Ten Rings. We desire to dominate the civilization that had rendered us homeless. The one who leads us is known by many names, among his greatest is Master Khan, the Mandarin."

A voice rung in Tony's head and he remembered the burnt face of Aldrich Killian screaming at him. _"I am the Mandarin!"_

"What does the Mandarin have against Tony Stark?" Tony heard Rhodey ask but he didn't hear Norriss' answer because…

 _Tony passed by a graffiti on the wall of the tunnel, the first sign that anybody had ever been there. It showed ten interlocking rings surrounding a pair of crossed scimitars; inside each ring was a symbol he couldn't read. But he knew the sign._

The Ten Rings, _he thought, not liking the sign at all._

 _He looked ahead to continue on his way when he saw a person standing a few paces away from him. The darkness in the dimly lit tunnel ensured he couldn't see his face clearly._

" _Who are you?" Tony asked._

" _I am the Mandarin," the person said. "I was with you in your beginning and I will be with you in your end."_

 _A beam of light hit Tony square in the chest and he stumbled back, knocking down the suit he had gotten out of. He scrambled to his feet and ran out of the tunnel that began to shake._ _He came out to the ruins of the house._

 _The suit had no more power, Friday couldn't help him, he had no offensive weapons… but there could be some left in the ruins. He would have to search for it amidst the rubble._

" _You destroyed centuries of work with one creation, Stark. My legacy, gone," stated the Mandarin._

 _Pieces of stone began to rise to the air and head for Tony's direction. Tony hid behind a wall of what used to be a bathroom as he scanned his surroundings. There were scorch marks on the floor; it's a miracle the mountain didn't come down when the Jericho hit him._

 _Unless it wasn't a real mountain._

There was an underground tunnel, _he thought._ What if there's a hangar underneath? Earth fortifying and encasing a hidden base. I could find it and—

 _Something hit the wall Tony was using for cover and it threw him a feet away He rolled in pain, clutching at his arm. Dust had gotten into his eyes and he blinked away the tears, attempting to see clearly._ _He wouldn't be able to find that base in time._

" _I will take away yours."_

 _Tony's leg hit something and he could see the blurry outlines of a gun. He reached for it, and turning around, quickly fired at the obscured image of a person coming at him._

 _The Mandarin dropped to the ground, but not before he hit his target with something the latter couldn't identify._

 _Tony let go of the gun and clutched at his head._

Tony fell to his knees, hands to the sides of his head, grunting at the pain he was remembering. His head felt like it was being split open.

"Tony, what's wrong?" Rhodey was kneeling by his side.

Tony allowed his breathing to slow and return to normal before answering. "He's dead."

"Who?" asked Natasha, keeping her eye on their prisoner who was now out of the illusion.

"The Mandarin." Tony took one last deep breath and then rose to sit on a chair. "I remember killing him."

A startled look crossed Norriss' face but he hid it well.

"You sure?" asked the colonel.

Tony nodded.

"The Mandarin never dies," snarled Norriss. "But _you_ will and nothing can save you. Not your Scarlet Witch, not your spy, not your Avengers." He clearly was not happy to find out that he had given up his master to them.

Natasha drew back her arm and punched him, knocking him out and shutting him up.

"Thanks," said Tony.

"You're welcome." She took out her phone and began texting. "He'll be put in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. I'll start assigning servers to track down the Mandarin and the Ten Rings."

Tony stood, declining Rhodey and Wanda's offer to help him. "Don't bother. He's dead." And he felt much better knowing it.

Natasha slid her phone back in her pocket.

Tony turned to Wanda, "That's the second time you've helped me. You're really handy, you know that?"

She shrugged off his form of 'thank you'.

"Why didn't you tell me you were just gonna play with his mind?"

"It was more fun seeing your face when you realized there were other ways to get information besides torture."

Tony chuckled. "Did you… see the Mandarin? In his head?"

Wanda shook her head. "Even _he_ doesn't know what he looks like. He saw what he always saw. A person in the shadows." She crossed her arms. "You didn't see his face in your memories?"

"No. But it doesn't matter. He was the invisible hand behind Afghanistan. I guess it was poetic that I never got to see him in the end."

S.H.I.E.L.D. agents arrived minutes later to escort Norriss into custody. Natasha and Wanda went with them to make sure that he wouldn't escape and nobody else would help him do so.

"This was a good run, man," said Rhodey as he and Tony watched the armored vehicle pull out of the driveway. "I hope you found what you were looking for."

Tony inhaled deeply; a lightness in his chest had settled. "I did. Thanks, Jim. I appreciate the help even though you technically never said yes."

"Did you just say thank you?" Rhodey looked around to the plants and shrubbery. "Did he just say thank you?"

"I'm gonna let you have this one 'cause it's the only time you'll hear me say it."

Rhodey grasped his best friend's hand and shook it vigorously.

"You done?"

"I'm done." They walked over to where they parked their cars. "You better go home to Pepper. What did you say to her to get away from the house, anyway?"

Tony suddenly grabbed Rhodey's arm, remembering what he said to his wife before he left. "I told her I'd go see the doc. But he's in New York! She knows I lied!"

His friend laughed. "You'll live. You've survived worse."

When Tony arrived at the mansion that night, he went straight to the workshop and reviewed his entire archive again. His file was up on the screen.

"I was with you in your beginning and I will be with you in your end," was what the Mandarin said to him. It started to make sense. The Ten Rings was a part of his beginning; it was the reason he became Iron Man. And it seemed that he went full circle now.

He closed the file. Their part in his life was over and so was the hunt for his memories. It's time to make new ones like Rogers said, and he breathed easy for the first time since the accident, the feeling of paranoia gone.

He thought of how his family will remain safe and he's surprised as to when he started to view them as _his_ family and when he began to worry over them so much.

If someone came up to his 28-year-old self in 1998 and said that he'd wind up becoming a superhero, married, and have kids, he'd have them committed in a Psych ward. But here he was and… enjoying it more than he'd like to admit.

He shut down the screens and whirled around only to find Pepper by the doorway.

"You went to see John, huh?" she said sternly, an eyebrow arched and her hands on her hips.

 _Yep. She knows you lied._

"I lied."

"I know. Y _ou're the world's worst liar._ "

The statement sounded familiar and Tony remembered that that was the exact same thing he said to her when they first met. He searched for the familiar sparkle in her eye and he knew it wasn't a coincidence she said it. Her face softened into a grin. She was teasing him.

He walked towards her and took her hand, leading her up the steps to the living room and then to their bedroom. He told her everything as he changed into his sleepwear, sharing the success of the mission with her.

By the time he was done, they were both seated on the bed with backs against the headboard, facing each other.

"So, it's over," Pepper said.

Tony nodded, reaching for her hand on her lap, playing with her fingers. "It is."

"You're going to live in the moment now? Just… make new memories with me and the kids?"

"Yep. I was even thinking I'll come visit you at work tomorrow, bring the kids, see the R&D department."

"I would really love that." She drew herself close to him. "You know what I would love even more?" Something warm stirred in Tony's gut and he inclined his mouth down to hers. She brought a hand up to his chest, their lips almost coming together.

Pepper pushed him a fraction away. "You calling John and setting up an appointment."

The feeling was gone. "Got it."

She drew the blanket to her and sank against the mattress, closing her eyes. "Good night, Tony."

He smirked. "Good night, Pep."

…

True to his word, Tony brought the children with him to Stark Industries the next day.

"Hi, mommy!" said Maria, running over to her mother who was behind the desk and giving her a kiss on her cheek.

"Hi, baby." Pepper rose from the chair and walked around the table, the little girl following.

"Hi, mom!" echoed Philip, going up on his toes to give her a kiss of his own.

"Hi, baby," Pepper repeated, bending down to receive it and ruffling his hair after.

"Hi, honey!" said Tony, testing the pet name out. He crinkled his face. "Was that weird?" he asked her referring to the nickname.

Pepper blushed. "No, it wasn't weird."

Philip held up a box to her while Maria bounced on the balls of her feet. "Open it!"

Pepper took it, eyeing the three of them suspiciously. "What is it?"

"It's something sweet," Philip answered. "Open it 'cause I want some!"

Pepper took off the wrapper and saw that it was a box of chocolates. She expressed her gratitude and handed it to the kids who immediately proceeded to eat it.

"I think your idea backfired," Pepper said to Tony.

"I'm not gonna lie this time. I didn't think _they_ would eat it." Maria offered up the box to them and Tony took one, popping it in his mouth. "It's good."

Pepper decided to take one too. "Three of my favorite people plus chocolate? My day is made."

The two kids seated themselves at a spot in the office.

"Did you call John?" asked Pepper, walking back to her desk.

"Yep. I called and I told him that I was remembering things. I also told him your theories. He sounded pretty optimistic it wasn't a tumor. But for you, I'm flying to New York next week anyway. Maybe I'll even have time to see your mom."

"She'll love that. She's been calling everyday, asking about her favorite son-in-law. You're her _only_ son-in-law, by the way."

"What a coincidence! She's my only mother-in-law too!"

Pepper rolled her eyes at him, smiling.

Tony tapped his fingers on the surface of her table. "Well, I'm gonna go to the R&D Department and shake up the greatest minds in the world. I'll be back in an hour." He waved goodbye to her and then to the children who were busy playing with toys.

He found the department right in the seventh floor except that it had some modifications done to it. That didn't surprise him; who had ever heard of a tech company _not_ upgrading its R &D Department according to the changes of the time?

He spotted a bald man hunched over a computer and madly typing away. Tony gave the back of man's head a small slap, saying, "Bob!"

Bob jumped to his feet, an angry look on his face. But when he saw Tony, he sighed in relief.

"Tony! Great! You're here! I need your help." He pushed the genius down to his chair and showed him what he was working on.

"It's nice to see you too, Bob," Tony said sarcastically. His eyes landed on the formula on the screen and he began to type, losing himself in the work he loved so much.

Pepper and the children found him hours later, observing a volunteer who was testing prosthetic legs.

"Just a minute, honey," Tony said to her without even glancing in her direction. "The movement isn't as fluid as I'd like it to be. We got to work on the communication for that." An intern wrote down everything he said. "How's it feel inside?"

The volunteer took two steps forward. "It _feels_ comfortable now. It isn't pinching on my skin but we have to figure out how to get an aircon in this thing. My legs are melting."

"You got that?"

The intern nodded.

"That's it for now, gentlemen! Man, it's good to back!" The technicians and the engineers came up to him and shook his hand.

When Tony walked back to his family, his wife was frowning. "'I'll be back in an hour?' It's 5:30!"

"I'm sorry. I got carried away." He pouted, "It just felt so good to have my mind working again, Pep! I had so much suggestions to the products, so many ideas!"

She sighed, understanding. "That's good. But we have to go."

They went home and had dinner. Tony spent it silently watching his family interact and discreetly following Pepper with his eyes. He went up to his bedroom after to take a bath while Pepper took care of the children. She still hadn't returned when he finished, making him take out the schematics he brought home to pass the time. But he failed in trying to understand anything, too distracted about what he had planned for the night.

The door opened and the object of his thoughts walked in.

"Finally got them to get to bed. Maria wouldn't get off that spider you made her. I can't believe you made them a robot. And of all the things to design them after, you chose a spider?"

"A spider is actually a very talented arachnid," Tony said, watching her as she kicked off her shoes and then put away her jewelry. "You want to hear more of the talented spider species?"

"Maybe later," she said, going inside the bathroom.

Tony heard the shower run and he returned to the sheets in his hands. How was he going to do this? He had never been this nervous before. And since when did he ever think about _how_ he was going to do it. Usually, it came so naturally to him. This must be 2016 adult Tony taking over.

Minutes later, Pepper went out and headed for her vanity. She stood facing the mirror doing something Tony didn't care to find out. He got up from the bed and moved towards her, deciding he could take a page out of 1998 Tony and just _do._

Tony wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

Her body tensed, surprised at the action. Tony didn't normally initiate this much contact. "What are you doing?" She tried to sound amused but the tremble in her voice betrayed her.

Tony turned her body around to face him and he put a hand on her chin to lift it up to his mouth.

She took a deep breath, blinked once, twice, and then asked again, "What are you doing?" Her voice was barely a whisper.

There was a small gap between their lips and they could both feel the anticipation in their bones, in the air. She smelled like flowers.

"Making new memories," Tony said before finally bringing their lips together.

This wasn't Tony's first time kissing a woman. He had kissed dozens before. Neither was it his first time kissing Pepper. But this kiss, _this_ one, well, there was something quite different and unexplainable about kissing someone without worrying about the amount of memories it might trigger.

Pepper put a hand on the back of his neck, pushing his lips hard against hers while he brought his hand back down to her waist. He coaxed her lips open with his tongue, a request she hungrily granted, starting a dance in their mouths that lit him on fire. Her free hand went up to his hair, running through it and tugging.

Tony broke away from her for air and then came back, trailing soft kisses along her neck up to her earlobe. She smelled even more intoxicating from there. Pepper let out a gasp when he hit a sensitive spot and he took that as a sign to continue; he nibbled at her ear eliciting a moan from her that drove his insides excited. Tony went back to her lips and she responded enthusiastically.

Pepper's hands found his shirt and tugged at it, causing him to draw back in hesitation. He had only gotten so far as to _how_ he was going to kiss her; he hadn't gotten to the sex part yet.

Tony gazed at her like he's been doing for the past week and her eyes told him everything he needed to know. She was tired of holding back. The previous incidents of flirting and near kisses were proof of that. She missed him and his touch. Her eyes begged at him to give her release from the waiting and the heartache and he found that he couldn't say no.

How could he say no to her when she looked so beautiful, hair damp from her shower, lips swollen from his kisses, chest heaving up and then down from the intensity of it all. How could he say no to her, the mother of his children, the woman who stayed by his side and chose to continue loving him even when he couldn't remember her? How could he say no when he didn't want to?

Tony let Pepper lift his shirt up from his body and he stumbled out of his pajama pants. She got out of her shirt while he pulled down her shorts with one move of his hand, and then he lifted her up so she could straddle him. He lay her on their bed and they melted into each other.

He kissed her some more; he kissed her everywhere, their bodies moving against each other in a pace that refused to slow, as if slowing would make the world end. They clung to each other as if they would disappear any minute.

...

Pepper's body lay atop his. He was stroking her hair as she rested her head on his chest and she was caressing the scar where he his arc reactor previously was. They hadn't said anything to the other ever since that frenzy of a kiss that started it all.

"Tell me about them," Tony asked of her, breaking the silence.

"Who?"

"The kids."

"Hmm. Philip was born during the Battle of New York. I was safely away here in Malibu when it happened. You should have seen me refusing to push and give birth to our son because I wanted to wait for you to arrive."

Tony could distantly hear a phone ringing in his head and he knew it was a memory of that day.

"And did I?"

"Yes... three hours after. You didn't make it in time being busy saving the world from a nuclear missile and aliens."

"I'm sorry." He meant it. She had to give birth alone or her mother and Happy were probably with her. But he wasn't there either way.

"Don't be. You were keeping the world safe for your son."

Tony lowered his head to kiss hers.

"We named him after our friend, Phil Coulson... He died that day. I almost lost you then too." She stopped touching his scar and tightened her hold on him. He expected her to cry but she didn't. She went on. "You used to tease me that maybe Philip is Phil's kid and not yours because he looked like him as a baby. His eyes were always so observant of everything around him and it felt like he held the secrets to the universe."

Tony chuckled softly. There was never any doubt that Philip was his child. The fact that he drove Pepper crazy with his own small inventions was proof enough.

She continued, "Maria was a high risk pregnancy. We didn't know I was pregnant with her when Killian took me and subjected me to the Extremis virus. You cured us both but she was born premature."

There was a heat in Tony's chest and he knew it was him trying to put a lid on his anger for putting his wife and daughter in harm's way.

Pepper craned her neck to look up at him, her eyes glistening with unshed tears at the memory. "She was so tiny. She looked like a hotdog in Thor's hand. She spent two months in an incubator and you never left her side. You even bought the hospital just so that you wouldn't be restricted by the visiting hours. No world crisis could pull you away." Tony brought a hand to her cheek and she let a tear fall. "She got stronger and now it's as if she was never close to dying… God, Tony, what I would do to have you remember her birth."

 _So would I_ , he thought.

"Did we name her after my mother?" When she confirmed his suspicions, he said, "I guess it was the right decision because she plays the piano just as beautifully."

It was his turn to envelop her even tighter in his arms. "How did we get together?"

"You began acting a bit weird after Afghanistan." Her fingers returned to dance on his scar.

"Weird how?"

"Well, for one thing, the flirting and the banter between us felt different. Like it wasn't just _that_ anymore; there was some underlying meaning in it and I couldn't understand why you would put it there because we both knew nothing was ever going to happen." She paused, organizing her thoughts. "And when Obadiah died, I started staying later and later at the house to make sure you were okay. You asked me out on a date which I eventually agreed to after a few days to shut you up."

"I'm betting it was the best decision of your life."

Pepper giggled and Tony loved that he was cause of it. "Nope. The best decision of my life was when I agreed to marry you. It was in 2010. You survived another threat to your life by defeating a psychotic Russian and got the shrapnel in your heart removed. You proposed to me a few days after the surgery and we got married at the end of the year."

"I saw the video of you choking on my mom's ring." The memory didn't seem so far away and separate from him now.

"I don't know why you thought putting it in a wine glass would be the perfect way to propose. You couldn't have just showed it to me like a normal person?"

"I'm not speaking for 2010 Tony but I'm guessing he wanted it to be romantic and grand."

Pepper snorted. "Yeah. Choking was very romantic. But I stand by my decision that marrying you was the best thing I ever did." She moved up to kiss him again and he flipped her over, letting her body go under his.

"I love this," Tony moaned against her lips, rubbing slow repetitive circles on her pelvic bone with his thumb. "You should've kissed me the minute I woke up in the hospital. True love's kiss and all. I would've remembered everything right then and there."

Pepper slightly angled her head diagonally, probably laughing at the thought of him being Sleeping Beauty or some kind of princess. He sucked on her collar bone and she sighed in pleasure.

"I was so unsure of us when you got out of the hospital," she admitted breathily and Tony stopped for a moment. She looked up at him. "I never knew if you were flirting with me because you were _my_ Tony or because you were the old Tony. And I didn't want to get my hopes up by letting you in. I wanted to wait until you were completely yourself again."

"And how do you feel about the fact that I'm not completely myself? That I'm not 100% _your_ Tony?"

Pepper slid a finger against his cheek. "I realize that it doesn't matter. I'm always going to love you, _every_ version of you."

Tony leaned in to her touch, eyes fluttering closed. If he was ever going to do it, it was now. For her... and the kids.

"I quit," he blurted out, opening his eyes.

Her eyebrows furrowed. "What?"

"I quit being Iron Man."

"You've said that before."

"I have? Well, this time I mean it. Maybe the accident was the universe's way of telling me to stop. It's… I've been spending more time with you and the children and I just… I see how much pain I've caused you. You're tired of being married to a superhero, Pepper. It's taken so much from you, from us. We nearly lost our daughter! I missed our son's birth! I lost my memories! How could I have put this job before you?" Tony shook his head. "I won't return to being Iron Man. I'm retiring. There are younger and newer superheroes now and without families to worry about. I want to focus on you and the children and on a safer job. "

Pepper surprised him by bringing his lips down to hers and kissing him slowly and sensuously in reply; it wasn't as rough and pleading as the first.

Tony took his time getting to know her body once more, enjoying the taste of her, the flush of her skin, and the feel of her against him. Their bodies moved together, in sync in a gentle yet strong performance. Their moans and sighs served as their music and even when he was choking with passion and drowning in love, they didn't stop.

 **A/N: Tell me what you think with a review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Marvel or any of its characters used in this story. What is written here is for entertainment purposes only. I do not make any profits from it.**

The rest of the week saw the Stark family making visits to the company headquarters. Tony worked nonstop, testing prototypes of the various uses of the Arc Reactor technology and moving from one idea to another.

For Philip, he created a soccer ball that could be recalled and for Maria, he made a miniature portable piano to cheer her up when she began having tantrums about the fact that she couldn't play using her right hand until her bones healed.

Pepper didn't like the idea of him spoiling their children. She had argued, saying, "Maria needs to learn how to deal with holdups or else she'll get used to having her way with a cryfest."

"She's three, Pep!" Tony said.

"It starts at a young age."

"Can I at least spoil her this once because I don't remember spoiling her at all."

"Just this one time," she relented.

They also went to see Philip play in one of his kiddie soccer games. Tony initially found it amusing seeing toddlers run around in their little legs, but when one of the kids stole the ball from his son, he had leapt to his feet calling for the coach to intervene.

"Sit down!" Pepper hissed at him.

"Did you see that? That's a thief in the making." He reluctantly sat back down.

"You're overreacting. It's friendly competition."

"For now! Next thing you know the kid steals Philip's girl."

Pepper gave him a look that Tony was beginning to learn meant, 'Seriously?'

"I like that boy, daddy. He's funny," Maria said from beside him.

"I feel so betrayed by my own family."

The married couple also dressed up to go on a romantic night that involved Pepper in a flowy number and them eating at a fancy restaurant.

While they were both preparing to go, Tony had walked over to where she sat by her vanity and held up a ring.

"Why don't I wear mine?"

"Wear what?" Her attention remained focused on the mirror before her as she finished putting on her makeup.

"My wedding ring. I wasn't wearing it when I woke up in the hospital. Do I _not_ wear it?"

She put the makeup brush down and turned to him. "You weren't wearing it because you were working. You don't wear it when you work for practical reasons. You don't want it getting lost somewhere in the car engine or accidentally blown up."

"Hmm. Your Tony's pretty smart," he said, sliding it on his finger and testing it out. It didn't feel weird wearing a ring. He thought he would feel different, feel chained down or suffocated. But it felt… pleasant. He was about to tell Pepper to put on her own rings back when he saw her take out a necklace from her jewelry box and clasp it around her neck. It made him stop and think about where he'd seen it before.

She caught him staring. "You gave it to me. It's made from the sh—"

"—shrapnel in my heart, I remember." He brought a hand to survey it, admiring the effect the rubies had on her dress. His eyes trailed up to her face and he swept away the strands of her hair on her shoulders, his hand moving to rest on the back of her neck.

"Don't start anything you might not finish," she told him, eyes twinkling. "Our reservation is at 8."

"I have no problem being late for it. Do you?"

"Well, I didn't dress up like this just so you can remove it in less than a minute."

Tony nodded curtly. "Right. Show off the dress, eat dinner, and then I'll remove them the minute we get home."

He wound up removing them in the car ride after dinner.

On Sunday, the entire family planned for date night.

"How about I cook for a change?" Tony asked them all during lunch.

Pepper choked on her pasta while his kids groaned "No."

"Okay. I know I don't cook but I think I can learn how." He was a bit offended that they had no trust in him at all.

Philip shook his head quickly, his eyes almost bulging from the sockets. "You burned the kitchen last time."

Tony sighed. "Take out then?"

"Yeah! KFC!" cried Maria who had abandoned using a fork and ate her pasta with her left hand.

"That's not very date night-ish, sweetie," said Pepper, having cleared her throat with a drink of water. "I'll cook."

"That leaves dessert. Chocolate coated strawberries, anyone?" Tony looked at each of them.

"Mom's allergic to strawberries," said Philip.

Pepper nodded sheepishly and Tony mentally berated himself for not knowing.

"I knew there was a connection between you and strawberries. How about ice cream?"

They all agreed on ice cream.

"Let's do it the night I get back from New York this Wednesday." To Pepper Tony added, "We should invite your mom. I can have Stark Personnel pick her up from her house and drive her to the hangar. I'll meet her there after the appointment and we'll fly back together." He was rewarded with a radiant smile on Pepper's face.

On Wednesday morning of the following week, he flew to New York to meet with John. When Tony arrived at the hospital, the secretary directed him to wait in the doctor's office since the latter was still consulting with the Chief of Neurosurgery, a Dr. Strange.

Tony sat on the chair facing the desk and looked to the wall to read the various certificates and diplomas.

A moment later, he heard the door open and turned to see the familiar Asian man enter.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Tony." John let the door swing back closed with a click.

Tony waved his hand. "It's no problem. The missus is just being her paranoid self. I heard you talked with a neuro guy."

John walked over to his own seat and sat. "Yes. I showed him your previous scans and he says there is no tumor or a virus of any kind. So, Pepper can rest easy. But if she still insists, we can have a newer scan done today."

"What do _you_ think?" asked Tony.

"I agree with Dr. Strange." The doctor pulled open one of his drawers and took out a ring. "You didn't lose your memories because of a virus or some form of tumor. That's ridiculous and actually kind of insulting." He slipped it on his right index finger. "It was because of me."

"What?"

Tony saw the ring glow and then something hard hit him on his head.

…

He woke up with a splitting headache.

 _How many times is this going to happen to me?_ Tony thought bitterly.

He attempted to bring a hand up to massage his temples but found that they were bound. He looked down and saw that his ankles were in the same state.

He was lying on the floor of a basement and surrounding him were artifacts in glass cases. There was also a scimitar across from him, a painting of Genghis Khan riding into battle rested against a brown chest, and a rolled up flag was beside it.

He struggled to sit up and then wiggled himself over to the scimitar, planning to use it to cut himself loose when the door opened and the lights were switched on.

His physician walked down the stairs. "Oh, good. You're finally awake."

"John, help me out of here!" Tony whispered to him.

John's eyes glinted and he said, "Why would I help you when I want to do the exact opposite." He walked over to where the scimitar was and moved it away. "I am the Mandarin, Stark. And the Mandarin does not set his enemies free."

Tony stopped moving and stared, too struck with disbelief. "You're not the Mandarin. I killed him. I remember."

John lifted his shirt to show the healed scar on his lower right rib. "You missed." He brought his shirt back down and picked up the chest, opening it. "I really didn't want to kill you, Stark. I had opted for a cleaner approach, make you forget your memories so that you would stay away on your own." He took out a flat box inside and lifted the cover to reveal a row of rings. "But when you called and said you were remembering things, it didn't leave me with much of a choice." One by one he put the rings on. "Each one of these has the power to level cities, create dreams and nightmares, bury civilizations." He raised a gold ring into the light. "I used this on you. I call it the Liar. It doesn't have the power to take away memories but it can manipulate the mind and cloud it. I don't know why some of your memories were able to escape the Liar." He slipped it around his left ring finger and after putting on another one on his pinky, all of his fingers had a ring on. "But I'm still new with all of them, still learning how to master each one." He pointed to his right index finger. "This is Influence. It can produce beams of concussive force. This is what I will use to kill you." He put the small box back into the chest and closed it.

"I remember what you said in the mountain. I ruined your legacy when I escaped Afghanistan, didn't I? That's why you despise me. But why didn't you just kill me in the first place? Why bother playing with my mind?" asked Tony, trying to keep the man talking while he worked on the ropes around his wrists.

"Oh, Stark," John chuckled. "Because I wanted to take away _your_ legacy, the Iron Man. Losing it is much more painful than death; I would know. Seeing you helpless and not remember who you are and what made you, asking for _my_ help—I brought you down to your knees and you didn't even realize it." He towered over Tony, the Influence glowing.

"Pepper's going to find out. She knows I went to see you and she's probably wondering why I'm not home yet. She's going to be pissed you made me miss date night," Tony spat. "You haven't seen Pepper mad." He was mad too. The Mandarin made Tony late to his first date night. That's not going to stay unpunished.

"Maybe when this is all over, I will take your children too and raise them up in the ranks of the Ten Rings."

The thought of the toddlers living in the darkness of their own Afghan caves without any Ho Yinsen to keep them company built a shuddering blind rage inside him and Tony stretched out his legs, swiping John's own and knocking him down.

A beam from Influence missed Tony and hit the wall.

With his hands still tied, Tony threw a blow at John's side using his elbow. Tony brought his knees up to his chest and extended them, kicking hard and aiming for John's stomach. Right when his feet touched John, a force threw Tony back and he remained suspended in the middle of the room, unable to move.

John slowly stood up, his right hand raised and the ring on his middle finger glowing. "I admire your will to fight unceasingly. But Influence will see to it that that will disappears." The Influence glowed once more and it blasted Tony against the concrete wall, keeping him pinned against it in a wave of concussive energy.

Tony screamed as he struggled to raise his arms and exert all strength he had to move his head. He felt the ring hammer harder into his brain; blood trickled down his nostrils and he tasted bile that had risen to his throat.

If this is how he'll go, the only thing he could think about was that Pepper will be furious he missed date night and even more furious that he died.

The back wall of the basement suddenly gave in and part of the ceiling came crumbling down. It distracted John, making him scramble to get out of the way of the falling concrete.

The hammering from the ring stopped and Tony slid down to the ground. His ears rang, his head throbbed, and his breaths came in small gasps of air.

"Tony's injured!" came the familiar voice of James Rhodes.

Tony looked up and saw the Avengers, with Steve at the lead and calling out orders. "Vision, Scarlet Witch, clear the house. Bruce, Widow, you're on Medical Assistance with Tony. Thor, War Machine, and I are on the Mandarin."

Wanda and a purple being, who must be the Vision, flew to what remained of the second story of the house while Steve, Thor, and Rhodey surrounded John. Widow and Bruce, who was in his human form and carrying a medical kit, ran to Tony's side.

"You couldn't see _me_ for medical advice?" asked Bruce when he reached the billionaire's side, opening the kit and taking out an injection.

"Pepper," Tony coughed out, "wanted… M.D." The pain made him want to throw up.

The scientist stuck the needle in a small bottle and once it had absorbed the solution, he inserted it in Tony's arm.

Immediately, Tony felt his lungs breathe easier and the nausea subside. He grasped at Natasha's shoulder. "How did you… find me?"

"I ignored you when you told me not to search for the Mandarin and the Ten Rings. Bruce and Thor never found a body in Chile which made me suspect the Mandarin was still alive. One of the blood traces recovered at the scene was from your doctor."

"We called you and Pepper said you weren't there," Bruce continued, helping Tony up to his feet. "When she told us you were with John, we rushed over, and found you using the Avengers tracker in your blood."

They started to walk out through the blasted wall but John appeared, blocking their way. Tony looked back and saw that Thor, Steve, and Rhodey were each battling their own copy of the doctor. The Mandarin had made a multiple images of himself and they didn't know which one was real.

"You will fight for me," said the villain to Bruce and Natasha. He raised his left hand and the Liar in his finger glowed a bright yellow and so did the two Avengers' eyes. Bruce stepped away from them, his skin turning green and his body enlarging to the size of the Hulk. He roared and charged toward the direction of Steve.

Tony faced Natasha who smirked at him and then dragged him back inside the room. He struggled to get away from her grip but the Black Widow was stronger than she looked.

Tony didn't know why he said it, but he called out to Rhodey and shouted, "Give me a suit!"

The War Machine turned to him, hit the Mandarin copy with a repulsor ray, and then flew vertically out of the house. He came back with a red and silver briefcase and used it to knock Natasha aside. While the spy was still disoriented, Rhodey grabbed Tony's hand and placed it palm down against the flat surface of the briefcase. Then, the pilot stepped back as the case opened and began to build a suit of armor from Tony's hand down to his body.

Within seconds, he was fully encased in the Iron Man suit but Tony realized he had no idea how to operate it. The Heads-Up display loaded and Friday, knowing him too well, talked him into the weapons, flight, and communications systems.

It didn't take long for Tony to understand; he was a genius after all. He sidestepped Natasha's punch and grabbed her wrists, preventing her from injuring him with the small disks she had in her hands. But using her legs, the Black Widow kicked him down and threw the disks at him, causing the suit to power off.

It was an EMP.

While Tony waited for the suit to reboot, Natasha fired blow after blow at him with the gauntlets around her wrists. Vision appeared from what remained of the ceiling and dragged the spy off of Tony. Wanda was with him and she sent a series of red smoke at the Black Widow. The latter calmed and her eyes cleared, losing the hold the Liar ring had on her. She nodded her thanks at the Scarlet Witch.

The suit came back on and Tony said, "We have to separate him from the rings. It's his source of power."

Without another word, Vision and Natasha left his side to deal with John.

"Wanda, can you stop this guy from conjuring up illusions?" asked Steve through the comms.

They all turned to see a dozen Mandarins levitating flaming debris and firing electrical charges at Steve, Natasha, and Vision while Thor took care of an enraged Hulk who had the former wrapped in his enormous hand, trying to squeeze the life out of the Asgardian.

"That's beyond what I can do," said Wanda. "But I have something else." Suddenly the green giant dropped Thor to the ground and blinked a few times. The yellow in his eyes fading and turning green. "I set up mental blocks to prevent any of us from being mind controlled."

"The ring on his left ring finger! It can create illusions. Take that out first," said Tony, who fired missiles at the Johns in the room. Vision did the same, flying to the middle of the chaos and sending rays of energy at the copies of the Mandarin Tony didn't hit. Every one disappeared except for the man blocking the exit.

"A temporary setback," growled John. One of the rings glowed furiously and the remaining cement walls and ceiling crumbled down.

Before it could bury them all, Iron Man, War Machine, and Hulk smashed away the falling debris while the Scarlet Witch stretched out a hand and using her powers raised the Mandarin's left hand and lifted the Liar off his finger. She brought it over to herself and pocketed it.

"One down, nine more to go," said Rhodey. The big gun on his back began shooting at the Mandarin but the bullets didn't make contact as a ring froze them in mid-air.

All of them were unexpectedly drowned in darkness and only Rhodey and Tony, with the night vision in their suits, could see through it.

"Tony, hit him in the chest. I'm gonna go and grab a ring," directed the colonel.

And that's what they did.

Light came back into the room and Rhodey opened his armored palm to reveal he managed to take away two rings. He passed it to Steve who slipped it in the small pocket of his uniform.

"Ten or seven rings, it can still cause as much damage," snarled John. He raised his hands and the basement ground was lifted from its foundations.

Hulk roared and charged towards the enemy that tricked his mind, pushing both of them out and landing into the isolated field where the house was located. The basement floor came back down after them.

The Mandarin deflected Hulk's punches with his remaining rings causing the raging giant to clap his hands together. The force of the shock wave made the field of electromagnetic energy protecting the Asian man waver and then disappear. Hulk grabbed him and threw him back to what was left of the house.

Wanda stepped in, immobilizing John using her powers and then with her mind, one by one stripped him of his rings, dropping all of them to her open palm.

Thor marched forward and with a hold on John's neck, hoisted him up.

"You are not worthy of the rings you wear," Thor said through grit teeth. He raised his hammer to deliver the final blow.

John leered. "If you kill me, there will be no one to restore Stark's mind using the ring. I am the only one who knows how."

Thor turned to Captain America, awaiting his orders. Their leader motioned at his teammate to lower his weapon. They didn't need to kill the man.

"You forget," stated Steve, "We have a Scarlet Witch."

The Mandarin's face fell as Wanda picked out the Liar from her pocket and put it on the proper finger. She had seen the doctor's mind and knew how it worked.

The ring glowed and the first thing Tony remembered was the sound of Maria's cries as a newborn baby.

…

Dr. John Coo AKA The Mandarin was taken into S.H.I.E.L.D. custody and the rings locked in the Omega Vault. Suspected Ten Rings members such as Maria's piano teacher and Philip's soccer coach were also investigated on. However, information on the bases of the Ten Rings was deeply hidden in the doctor's mind that even Wanda could not reach it.

After finding out that Mary Potts had flown to Malibu alone, Tony flew back to the mansion at super sonic speed as soon as he was given the all clear by his teammates.

Word from Friday is that his family had gone on date night without him and went to bed; they were all asleep.

Tony decided to go see his children first. It would give himself time to gather his thoughts about the entire thing before waking Pepper and talking to her.

He slowly opened the bedroom door of his kids' room. Maria was sprawled on her stomach, her pillow on the floor. Philip was lying on his back, the blanket tangled around his feet. Tony positioned the fallen pillow behind his daughter's head and drew the blanket up to cover his son's small frame.

Philip stirred and turned to his side. One eye fluttered open and he saw Tony kneeling by his bedside.

"Dad?" said Philip. "I knew you'd come back," he mumbled before drifting back to sleep.

Tony didn't know what his son meant by 'come back.' Did it mean he knew Tony would come back from New York or Tony, his actual dad in the year 2016 and not the amnesiac one, would eventually return with all his memories intact? Tony found that he liked the latter theory more and he drew to his full height and sat himself down on the chair in their room, finding comfort in the fact that his children were safe, his children were alive, and he could remember them.

He could remember that he called Philip "Agent" after Phil Coulson, he could remember every waking moment arguing with the nurse over visiting hours in the NICU of the hospital, and he could even remember Mary's recipe for chocolate chip cookies (not that he would ever attempt to make them for Pepper again). But with those good memories, also came the bad ones. He could still see the look on Pepper's face when he called her Ginger and said he couldn't remember anyone. He could feel the tension and discomfort that was present in the car when he interacted with his children on the way to the facility; Philip was painfully aware of his lack of memories and distanced himself from Tony.

Tony closed his eyes and shook his head, hoping it would shake the memory away. But it only served to give him another image and it was of the woman he picked up at the club. Most of all, he couldn't believe that he forgot the very people he can't live without and his stomach twisted in fury at himself.

His eyes flew open. His skin crawled and he wallowed in self-hatred for a while.

Pepper found him there. She had poked her head in the doorframe (she probably woke up and Friday informed her of where he was), and leaned against it. "Why didn't you wake me?" she whispered, breathing a sigh of relief.

Tony didn't turn to face her. He rested his elbows on his thighs and continued to look at his children. "I didn't know what to say. So, I came here, hoping I'd get some perspective."

"Do you know what to say to me now?"

He turned his gaze toward her and then he got up and walked out of the room. He went straight to their bedroom; ignoring the absence of the things Pepper moved to the guest room from when she stayed there. She followed him, closing the door behind her. She joined him at the foot of the bed where he sat, brooding.

"Where were you?" Her tone was gentle; she didn't want to worsen his mood. "You never met with my mom at the hangar. And you didn't answer your phone. The kids fell asleep waiting for you. Where did you go?"

Pepper was concerned. Of course, she was. She always was. Tony remembered every mission now and knew by heart his wife's worried expressions; he can't believe he ever forgot the myriad of faces she wore around him.

She placed a hand on his chin and brought his face to look at her. She gasped, seeing the visible scratches and wounds on his face. "What happened to you?"

Tony didn't want to tell her where he's been the entire day. He didn't want her to know that it was something Avengers or Iron Man related because she'd get the wrong idea. She would think he got out of retirement _again_. She probably thought that when 1998 Tony said "I quit" things were going to be different, but he still ended up donning the suit, arresting some bad guys, and making her hair go gray with stress.

"Did you get into a fight with someone?" Realization dawned on her as she said it. "You went back in, didn't you? That's why Bruce and Natasha called to know where you were."

"That's not what happened," sighed Tony.

Pepper wordlessly got up and walked to their bathroom. She came back out with the first aid kit and sat on the foot of the bed. Tony let her dab at his wounds with alcohol. He knew the drill. She would patch him up while he would tell her what happened. She would comment and then fuss loudly over his injuries and then they'd have great you're-still-alive sex. But this time he knew there wouldn't be any of that. No comments, no overdramatic fussing, and definitely no sex.

When Pepper finished cleaning him up completely, she rose to return the kit but Tony grabbed her hand, effectively pulling her back down. She shot him a pained look and he quickly let go.

"Let me explain," Tony said.

"Okay. Tell me what was so important that you missed date night—a date night you planned, by the way."

Tony stood up and paced around the room. "I went to see John like I was supposed to. But he…" He stopped by the glass window and looked out. There was no other way to say it, he supposed. He walked back to her. "He kidnapped me."

Pepper turned white. "What?"

"Yeah. Turns out that The Mandarin isn't dead. He's actually hiding in plain sight as my own physician."

"But John... He was so helpful. I... He let the kids stay in his office… Bought them ice cones... How...?"

Tony ensued to tell her of everything that transpired, from the moment he entered John's office to the moment he flew back home. And as Pepper digested what he said, her forehead crinkled in thought and confusion that Tony suspected the wrinkles would be permanent.

"So, you have your memories back?" she finally said, looking at him like she wanted to hug him but at the same time afraid to do so.

"Yes."

"And you didn't make it home in time because he was torturing you," she whispered, her eyes brimming with tears. "It's all my fault."

"What? No!" Tony sat back down, grabbing her hands but she pulled them away, shaking her head. "None of this is your fault! He's been out to get me since the beginning."

"Yes, but I gave him access to your body, your mind, even our children! And I made you go see him because I was worried about a tumor? How stupid is that!"

"You didn't know. We all didn't. If Natasha didn't continue the investigation like I asked, she wouldn't have known that he was still alive and she wouldn't have rounded up the gang to save me." He cupped her cheek, wiping a tear that had escaped with his thumb.

"And then I was upset that you didn't show up for date night! Ridiculous!" She lowered her head, unable to face him. "I'm so sorry, Tony."

Tony sent her a bewildered look, not that she could see it, and brought his hands on both sides of her cheeks, forcing her to look at him. "Please, don't say that. I'm the one who should be sorry! I cheated on you! I forgot you! How could have I forgotten you? Forgotten Maria or Phil! I can't even—I wouldn't blame you if you had taken the kids and walked out on me. You should have. I gave you the worst kind of pain, seeing me live but not really see _me_. I always tried to protect you from danger, I just never thought I'd have to protect you from myself." He dropped his hands to his lap. "And I'll never forgive myself for that."

Pepper ran the back of her hand across her eyes, wiping the tears away. "You can't be too hard on yourself either; you tried your best to remember. I'm not going to lie and say it wasn't painful seeing you look at me and not remember who I was or see you very uncomfortable with your own children, but after we got past that, good things followed. Like that time we went to the park."

Tony chuckled softly at the memory.

"You had wonderful input on the company's R&D and you spent so much time reconnecting with the family last week." She took his hand, sighing. "You finally have your memories back... We should just forget all of this ever happened."

Tony shook his head and pressed his forehead against Pepper's. "I've done enough forgetting to last me a lifetime. I don't want to forget what I did." He drew his head back, "And you're not going to like what I have to say next."

She frowned and he suspected she already knew what was about to come.

"I can't quit." When she didn't react badly, he continued, "It's not because I don't want to but because I can't; the world won't let me. We saw that when despite the fact that for all intents and purposes I wasn't Iron Man these past weeks, the world managed to find a way to pull me back in. There will always be enemies and aliens and missiles and they will not step back just because I did."

Pepper bit her lip, understanding the ugly truth but not liking it at all.

Tony stood and walked over to her vanity. "But that doesn't mean I'm going to go on every mission and come home in pieces for you to put back together. Look at Clint. He's retired, raising a family, and occasionally consults for us." He took out the wedding and engagement rings Pepper had temporarily ceased wearing and walked back to her. "I'm going to put our family first—before me, before the bad guys, before the world."

"And what if you can't?" she asked as he knelt down and took her left hand. "You're going to die trying to come home to us like you did today aren't you?"

Tony positioned the engagement ring atop the tip of her ring finger. "Remember what I said when I first asked you out?"

Pepper tilted her head, trying to remember. "I think you said that you almost died and how would I feel that I never got the chance to go out with you."

"Okay. You're correct but I also said something else." As he inserted the engagement ring on her finger, he stated, "I said that if I had a girlfriend, she would know my true identity and she'd be a wreck just like how you are now. She'd always be worrying I was going to die and yet be so proud of the man I've become. I also said that while I will constantly leave to keep the world safe, I'll always come back to her."

"You remember that?"

Tony scoffed. "Ohh, I remember _everything_ now."

She raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to drive his point home.

He slowly slid the wedding ring on her finger next and admired it. He didn't like that she had taken them off. He held both of her hands and kissed her knuckles. "I want you to know that everything I do, I do for my family. When I go out there and save a kid from being disintegrated by a robot, or save Manhattan from giant lizards, or fly to Antarctica to rescue penguins—it's all for you, for Maria, and for Philip. And that's what's going to make me fight for my life and fly home so fast in time for dinner. I'll _always_ come home." He rose slightly and gently pressed his lips to hers. "I will die someday but I can assure you that it'll be from natural causes."

Pepper snorted, knowing that there was never any certainty of life with his job. But the idea of him growing old with her and babysitting their grandchildren is something she can hold on to in every mission until someone is able to succeed him as Iron Man.

"That will have to do for now," she told him with a hug. After a minute, she pulled away. "You need to shower."

"Yes, Ma'am."

…

"Philip, we gotta go!" Tony bellowed from the living room. He and Philip were running late for Maria's piano recital.

Eight weeks after the entire mess with the Mandarin, the young girl had finally gotten her cast out just in time to practice and be part of her class' kiddie showcase. Pepper was already at the auditorium, having driven their daughter there. She also texted him to say that she had saved them seats and that Clint's and Scott's respective children were already in the audience.

"I can't find my shoes!" came the four-year-old's reply.

"Where did you see them last?!"

"I can't remember."

Tony sighed in exasperation. "Friday," he called.

"Under the sofa cushion."

Philip came bounding down the stairs while Tony dug out the shoes.

"Agent, you need to keep a better eye on your uniform." He handed them to his son who put them on, muttering his apology.

They made it to the recital just in time, settling in their seats beside Pepper when the kid who went before Maria just finished her piece. Tony waved at Clint, Scott, and the kids who were good friends with Tony's own. When Maria stepped out and walked towards the piano, Tony put on a pair of glasses and tapped the corner, intent on recording the entire performance.

He had always been the supportive and proud dad ever since Philip was born. It was driven in part by the fact that he didn't want to be like his father who was cold, and also because he wanted to be the best dad in the whole world even though Pepper would remind him that it's not a competition.

"Mary Had a Little Lamb again?" Philip complained when his sister began.

Tony brought a finger to his lips, asking his son to keep quiet. Maria's playing had gotten better. The time spent with her broken arm had forced her to practice with her left hand, and now she was playing the instrument with both of her hands.

From afar, there was no denying that she inherited a lot from Maria Stark. It made Tony wish his parents were both still alive to enjoy the moment with them. He had no doubt that his father, although quite distant to Tony as he grew up, would be a doting grandpa. And as he thought about it, Tony knew he had never dealt with Maria and Howard's death very well. But he had one thing 1998 Tony didn't have—a family to help him whenever the gravest of griefs ever came.

His phone vibrated in his pocket, knocking him out of his reverie. He took it out to read an encrypted message from Maria Hill, contacting the Avengers about an assignment. He looked up to his daughter and then back again to the screen of his phone.

"Busy," he texted back. He knew the meaning of the word wasn't going to be lost on Agent Hill. 'Busy' didn't signify that he was currently working on a new tech and just decided he was too preoccupied to help save the world. It meant that he was doing something important with his family and they took precedence. Plus, the assessment on the crisis or potential crisis also didn't warrant his help; the assembled team could handle it well without him.

Tony felt a hand on his shoulder and he glanced at Pepper who was smiling gratefully. He knew she saw his reply to the text. He kissed her forehead and then watched their daughter play.

He wasn't going to break his promise this time.

 **A/N: And that ends the whole story. Thank you for sticking through the entire thing and reviewing!**


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